MLB Seeks Minimum Wage Exemption in Arizona

MLB is trying to get assistance from the state of Arizona. 

According to Axios, the league has asked Arizona lawmakers to exempt players from the state’s minimum wage laws for spring training. To do so, it will require the support of reluctant Democrats. 

The West Coast home for spring training, Arizona, could lose teams if they aren’t able to comply with player contracts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who played college baseball at Yale, signed a similar exemption for minor league players last year. Florida is the East Coast hotbed for spring training facilities. 

In April 2023, MLB owners approved a five-year labor agreement with minor league players that more than doubled their previous salaries, which is why the players support the league’s ask. The labor deal included spring training pay below Arizona’s minimum wage of $14.35 an hour. The Arizona state government has a Republican majority in both the House and Senate by one single seat in each, making the majority to approve the exemption seem improbable but not impossible to pass through. 

The MLB said total benefits for minor league players, which include wages, signing bonuses, housing, and food, among other amenities, average out to $110,000. If the bill doesn’t pass, teams could look to relocate from Arizona. Where will they go, with only so many states that make sense given the climate? New Mexico? But Arizona has an incentive to play ball with the MLB, given all the tourism spring training attracts every year.