• Loading stock data...
Friday, September 12, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

MLB Owners Propose $100M Salary Floor

  • MLB and its players association held their first in-person meeting of the year.
  • During the meeting, MLB owners proposed a $100 million salary floor.
manfred_at_microphone
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

In the first in-person meeting this year between MLB and its players association, baseball owners proposed a novel idea: a salary floor.

The owners’ concept would introduce a $100 million payroll minimum for MLB’s 30 teams and a lower luxury tax threshold, per The Athletic.

The current system introduces a 20% tax on payrolls over $210 million. The owners’ proposal would lower the threshold to $180 million, raise the tax to 25%, and introduce additional tiers at higher levels.

Funds from the tax would go to smaller-market teams, as they do now.

  • Seven teams have projected 2021 payrolls below $100 million.
  • Eight others would currently exceed a hypothetical threshold of $180 million.

The MLBPA has sought to incentivize teams to spend more and would likely resist a lower luxury tax threshold. 

The players have pushed proposals that would allow them to reach free agency sooner. MLB players typically play their first three years at league-minimum salaries, followed by three years under team control with salaries dictated or informed through the arbitration process.

This leads to many scenarios in which salaries do not correlate with production.

American League MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani is making $4.25 million this year — almost exactly league average ($4.2 million). Breakout phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is making a league-minimum $605,400.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; General view of a Fox Sports camera station before the game between the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field.

Lachlan Murdoch on Fox’s Sports Strategy, FanDuel Plans

The executive calls a forthcoming streaming bundle with ESPN “essential” for fans.
Sep 10, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; A general view of the main scoreboard at Yankee Stadium during a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk before the game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.

Yankees Prepare for Security Chaos With Trump at 9/11 Game, Days After..

The team told fans to arrive three hours early without any bags.
StubHub

StubHub Seeks Big Valuation in Revived IPO Despite $112M Loss

The ticket marketplace looks to raise as much as $851 million.
Blue Jays
exclusive

MLBPA, DraftKings Agree to Settle NIL Suit

MLBPA said DraftKings and other sportsbooks improperly used players’ NIL.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
FIFA

Saudis Awarded 2034 World Cup in Uncontested Vote

Saudi Arabia was the only option after Australia decided not to bid.
May 20, 2024

Top Sports Business Jobs This Week (May 2024)

Each week, our staff combs through the thousands of job listings from…
The stands at the Solheim Cup
September 13, 2024

LPGA Apologizes for Solheim Cup Fan Bus Debacle That Left Stands Half-Empty

The USA-Europe women’s team golf event teed off Friday morning.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
October 3, 2022

Real Madrid President Renews Call for Super League

Real Madrid’s president believes that soccer is losing ground.
August 10, 2022

PGA Tour Touts Projected Earnings to Keep Players

The PGA Tour is asking its players to consider their potential futures.
August 10, 2022

Bayern Munich to Make Growth Push in U.S. Market

Bayern Munich is looking to expand its reach in the U.S.
Nintendo-logo
August 3, 2022

Nintendo Profits Underwhelm, Switch Sales Decline

Nintendo failed to meet expectations in the company’s latest earnings report.