MLB owners are willing to wait an additional year on a key proposed element of the next collective bargaining agreement.
The league has proposed postponing a salary cap and floor until the 2028 season, as the CBA nears expiration on Dec. 1.
“Starting in 2028 would allow a smoother transition into the scale and floor system without delaying key player benefits,” MLB posted on social media.
The proposal calls for a cap of $258.2 million that no club can exceed. Under that proposal eight teams, including the Mets and Yankees, would have to shed significant dollars from their payrolls (per 2026 figures).
According to Spotrac, the Mets led MLB last season with a $346.7 million payroll. The Yankees were third at $308.3 million.
The proposal calls for a salary floor of $180.2 million that all clubs must meet. Last season, 12 teams were below that figure, with Guardians last at $74.5 million, according to Spotrac.
MLB said the 12 clubs under the proposed threshold would have increase payroll by a combined $636 million. The eight teams over the proposed threshold would have to shed $528 million in payroll, according to MLB.
“The projected salary cap and floor for 2028 continues to provide more money for major league players while leveling the playing field and giving more teams the ability to participate in the free agent market and retain their homegrown stars so that every fan believes their team has a fair chance to win it all,” MLB’s statement said.
The players’ association has voiced vehement opposition to the implementation of a salary cap, leaving the two sides headed toward a December lockout.
MLB said it’s also willing to accept the players’ association proposal that players at least 30 years old can become free agents after five years of service rather than having to complete a sixth.
Also, MLB has indicated it is willing to eliminate the qualifying offer – as the players’ association has proposed. Under the current system a team signing a player that receives the qualifying offer must surrender a draft pick. The players’ association has long maintained that such a system suppresses a free agent’s value.
Under MLB’s proposal the league minimum salary would be raised from $780,000 to $1.5 million. The pre-arbitration bonus pool, which currently stands at $50 million, would be raised to $180 million.
