Law

Senate Takes Aim at MLB’s Antitrust Exemption

Four members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote a letter as part of its “analysis of the necessity of this century-old exemption.”
Advocate says minor leaguers “are far and away the group most negatively impacted” by MLB’s broad antitrust exemption.

Jun 28, 2022 | 04:30 pm

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

The Senate Judiciary Committee has launched a bipartisan effort to examine the legality of Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption — and whether its termination will improve minor league working conditions .

The committee — chair Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — penned a letter to Harry Marino, the executive director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers.

Marino has pressed for improvements in pay and living conditions for players in the MLB farm system.

In the current setup, rights to players are held for a total of seven years in the minors and seven more if the player reaches the majors — with no option to play elsewhere professionally unless the team releases the player.
The salary range for minor league players this season ranges from $4,800 and $15,400.
The Department of Justice described MLB’s exemption as an “aberration” in a filing as part of a lawsuit over the contraction of 40 teams; MLB assumed control of operations of the minor leagues before the 2021 season.

Not-So-Minor Impact

Marino said that minor league players are “far and away the group most negatively impacted by baseball’s antitrust exemption.” He also noted that MLB owners “should not have a special license to underpay their workers.”