JANUARY 13: Details of this afternoon’s meeting remain unclear, but both Passan and Nightengale (Twitter links) characterize the union’s response to the league’s proposal as unfavorable. It’s not yet known when the sides will meet again, which Passan suggests is dependent on how quickly the union makes a counterproposal. Passan ominously adds that an on-time start to Spring Training “is in peril.”
JANUARY 11: Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have scheduled a collective bargaining negotiation session for Thursday, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). Notably, MLB is expected to present a core economics proposal to the union, marking the first development on the most contentious issues of the lockout since the league instituted the work stoppage on December 2.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today sheds some light on the upcoming proposal. The league is not expected to address the service time structure during this session. MLB is expected to put forth an increase in the league minimum salary to $600K, with further hikes to a height of $700K by the end of a potential CBA term, as well as alterations to draft pick compensation/forfeiture for signing free agents tagged with a qualifying offer.
Nightengale wrote Monday that the league was preparing to make its proposal within the next two weeks. In a bit of a surprise, they’ll come in at the earlier end of that timetable. Thursday’s conference will take place over video, tweets Evan Drellich of the Athletic.
Last-ditch efforts to progress on core economics before the previous collective bargaining agreement expired proved fruitless, culminating in a seven-minute session during the afternoon of December 1. Entering that meeting, the league had reportedly informed the MLBPA it would only entertain core economics discussions that didn’t involve changes to revenue sharing, six-year free agency eligibility and the existing eligibility requirements (for the most part, three years of service time) for arbitration. The union refused to accept those conditions, and the parties have been in a holding pattern since that point, with the MLBPA waiting for the league to bring forth another proposal.
It remains to be seen whether the league’s offer will meaningfully reignite discussions. It’s unclear to what extent MLB’s forthcoming proposal differs from its previous iterations, to which the union has not responded favorably. (MLB, of course, has been similarly unhappy with the PA’s offers). The possibility remains that the union will not consider this week’s offer sufficiently dissimilar from MLB’s past presentations to advance negotiations. Yet it’s at least notable that the parties are set to speak with one another regarding the most important topics for the first time in nearly six weeks. The sides have met a few times since the lockout began, but those discussions were limited to points outside of core economics.
Spring Training games are scheduled for February 26. In all likelihood, the parties will need to have a new CBA in place within the first half of next month to avoid any cancellations of exhibition play. That’ll require bridging the gap on a handful of key sticking points, like the service time structure, league minimum salary, competitive balance tax, playoff expansion, revenue sharing and the universal designated hitter.
Thursday.
First rejection also scheduled for Thursday.
To be clear, I’m not being negative. It’s a process. It’s going to bounce back and forth.
I don’t like it’s video. Face-to-face negotiations are better, but I’m sure this is omicron related. Regardless, make them fly to Iowa and the Field of Dreams house. Lock them in a room until they have agreement.
Definitely lock MLB / MLBPA / Commissioner in a room and not let them leave until a CBA is approved. Better yet put all of them on a ship out in the middle of the ocean with no return until CBA is approved. Get the job done now!
It wouldn’t do any good unless they open the books and back up all the ‘we can’t afford that’ talk. People can bs in person too.
Yeah, a Carnival Covid 3 day cruise should get it done with the threat of extending it to a seven day cruise if they don’t!
Yep do what Pete Rozelle did when the AFL and NFL merged and 3 teams had to join the new AFC and none wanted. He basically stuck all 16 NFL owners in a hotel room and said don’t come out until a deal is done.
I know this is far more complex and contentious, but urgency should matter in both cases.
For sure, there’s no way anyone agrees to anything this early
These a-hole millionaires and billionaires better not eff this up and delay Opening Day. Maybe I’m a cult of one, but if they screw this up, they may lose me forever. And I go back a long way. The first MLB game I ever saw was almost 70 years ago. The Philadelphia A’s hosted the Detroit Tigers at Shibe Park (Later renamed Connie Mack Stadium). Gus Zernial hit a HR for the A’s that day.
With so many people suffering with basic needs I am losing interest as a fan as they push for more money on both sides. This is simply millionaires and billionaires just wanting more of our money (fans). Who has OUR best interest at heart? They may get exactly what they want. Or there may be a strike and the majority of fans lose interest and focus their attention elsewhere resulting in a major loss of earnings on both sides. Karma sucks.
Not sure what you are reading. People are quitting their jobs in record numbers and they get no unemployment if they quit. Unemployment is at a 50 year low. Median wages for the working class were up more than 10% in 2021.
The problem here is the owners got two great CBAs in a row and revenue is way up since 2011. The owners are making ridiculous proposals that they know the players will reject. Manfred and the owners need to get real or there will be no 2022 season.
Then let the players have those median jobs that are currently empty. Then they may realize how well they have it and come to there senses
Yep. Per Goldman Sachs in November, roughly 70% of the people who’ve left the workforce since the start of the pandemic are age 55 and older. In October alone, it was about 90%. The notion that younger people were getting too much government assistance has been proven wrong. Why work when you can afford not to?
By the way, I’m one of those people who cashed in early. Go back to work? No way. Any money I make from here on will be by pursuing my passions, with no pressure to rake in the bucks (and we’re in no way wealthy). Life is good for my wife and I. It’s incredible what you can accomplish when you don’t have a job holding you down.
To those still working for the man, you’re in control. Don’t let anyone pay you less than what you’re worth. If one employer won’t, there are plenty of others who will.
revenue is way up since 2011.
=============================
The players should’ve accepted a % of revenues like the other major sports have done. Had revenues tanked, then the players would’ve had great CBAs. You can share revenues or have salaries, but not both.
Cey Hey
Yep. Per Goldman Sachs in November, roughly 70% of the people who’ve left the workforce since the start of the pandemic are age 55 and older
===================================
Everything you said about yourself is true for me as well (though I am going to cut back on work, but not retire).
This is truly an “emperor has no clothes moment’ in our country’s history. The country is borrowing trillions, and giving it to everyone via lowered taxes and social welfare payments. The end result is that everyone’s 401k’s have doubled. My net worth has literally doubled in 5 years via government borrowing.
@JoeBrady, life is good, isn’t it? All our lives, we worry about not having enough money when we get older. Then, when we get there, we wind up with more than we could have imagined. My mom used to tell me that would be the case, but I didn’t believe her. Given these modern circumstances, it’s even better than Mom would have thought. Yet 10 years ago, I was still worrying.
Cey Hey3 hours ago
@JoeBrady, life is good, isn’t it?
==============================
It is, but it is also unfair. The folks that are going to wind up with all the deficit spending are going to be folks with 401k and other stock investments. These are going to be the people stoking housing inflation.
The folks with some money, but not a huge amount, are going to lose out on the housing markets, and barring some very possible reversals, will remain left behind. The folks that spent 5 years saving a $50k downpayment, will try to buy a house that’s gone up $100k over the same time period.
And I don’t think anything in the world contributes more to inequality than deficit spending.
My issue with them is how tone deaf both sides are. There’s a lot of lip service from both sides about what’s “best” for the fans and the game. These people are so far removed from the world the rest of us know, that almost anything they say to us just flat out reeks of patronization.
Wow! What was Shibe Park like?
I agree, I swore off baseball in 1994, and that only lasted for a few months
MLB,
Drama Queen.
Whoa!! Why the rush?!
Both sides have to want it to make it work. Don’t know if they are both at that point yet. Maybe in May once they are both losing out on money?
They lose well before that. The last time a work stoppage cost games, it was years before baseball recovered. That was a long time ago, but the owners remember and the union knows its history. It’s ok if the season is delayed a week or two but they play at least 150, but less than that and the sport starts to take a hit. Casual fans are turned off by the bickering and will turn their attention elsewhere.
And it took the steroid era going into overdrive, to save it.
This process is all backwards. They should both be at the table talking and no one should leave until their differences are settled. THEN they should draft a formal proposal that was already discussed and agreed upon and once reviewed by both sides we should be able to put this crap in the past. But nope! Just wasting more time writing “proposals” that we all know won’t go through because each side hasn’t spent enough time talking with each other.
It’s not really backwards. The people negotiating aren’t the ones crunching the numbers and running scenarios in a back room somewhere. There’s also the fact that some proposals, while they seem good on the surface, may yield a problem the more you think about them. When it’s this complex, you need to have time to consider a proposal before agreeing to it.
Sounds like how both political parties do things
He did report they’d meet within two weeks and they are.
And some people think the players are asking for too much, they gave up a lot the last 2 cba’s while gaining nothing back, now the owners don’t even want to discuss core issues players have problems with haha, players win us the fans win
Why is it the owner’s problem that the MLBPA had poor representation for the previous CBA negotiations?
Because if a contract tilts too much toward one side, then there is more ground to be made up in subsequent iterations.
This at least seems like a small step in the right direction. The escalation of the minimum salary is faster than the year to year growth in the past
statista.com/statistics/256187/minimum-salary-of-p…
The historical minimum salary increases have been a joke, typically 1.5-2%. The players should push for a new minimum of $1M so young players, who are making up an ever greater percentage of MLBPA membership, get paid more.
The players made a strategic decision to give up helping the little guys amongst them and made sure that the superstars could make bank. And their top priority is still getting more for the highest paid, at the expense of everyone else. They are not the heroes here. Their concessions were strategic.
Over half of MLB players are pre-arb. They may not be in leadership positions, but they have the voting power.
Doesn’t matter. You really think the pre-arb guys are gonna vote against what the union leaders decide on? Are you suggesting that the problem with salaries is that the top guys aren’t paid enough? If the problem doesn’t lie with the pre-arb guys, then there is no problem and the players are making a fuss over nothing.
I’m not saying the problem is the top guys aren’t paid enough. I’m not sure where you got that idea. I think players should get more their first six years, especially since teams are shifting toward rostering more of those players.
Glad they’re meeting, but I’m hoping the proposals to each other are much better than the last ones both sides offered. The sides will both have to give quite a bit to meet in the middle, but it feels like both sides are making 1% better concessions than the last proposal, then bemoaning that the other side won’t readily agree to it.
With no good news anywhere, about anything, and everyone in the world getting more and more discouraged, I expect that baseball will finally prevail and an agreement will come about shockingly soon.
Mark my word!
I’ve never been wrong about anything yet. Oh, I thought I was wrong once, about something a long time ago, but it turned out I was mistaken.
32 days until pitchers and catchers report.
I’d bet at least 42. I don’t see how a deal gets done before ST starts, but I do hope once the sides realize that further delays cost both of them money, both short-term and long-term, they’ll find middle ground quickly.
I say 50ish. Players think spring training is about 2 weeks too long. They always have and always will. As much as I believe the owners bring more contentious-ness than the players do I feel the players will, in the end, cause a longer delay for settlement for my reason above. I dont care if I’m wrong, tho.
Right.
Seriously, I think the game of baseball will prevail during these awful times, and there will be an agreement shockingly soon.
Both sides are sick of the whole thing.
not at this rate
THIS Thursday? One can dream…..
I say Tony walks out after 15 minutes, not 10 this time.
Tony Clark can do whatever the hell he wants, because Bruce Meyer is the one doing the negotiating this time around.
MLB: Blahbity
MLBPA: Blobbity
MLBTR: Progress!
Fans: Bleepity!
Dreaming in colour maybe, but wouldn’t it be nice if the talks were deemed positive enough that the lockout was lifted.
I just had to like your comment. Thanks
Does it seem like they don’t want a deal? Why all the foot-dragging?
About freaking time.
I seriously think the owners should fire Manfred, lock out the players and
select random local little league teams to represent each city.
It would be totally awesome, exciting and…..
The kids get their college paid for in one summer.
The local ittle league gets their budget paid for the next 2 decades.
It is a better use of funds than giving Carlos Correa $350,000,000.00/10 years…
And yes. I blame Al.
Of course, for the full 162 game schedule multiple teams would need to be selected.
That’s cool. That’s a lot of kids earning good money at their summer jobs and a lot of unique collectable baseball cards… because if you’re going to do it, you might as well go whole hog.
BRING AMERICA BACK!
And….Yes. I still blame Al.
If Manfred supports my idea….
I will retract the part about firing him.
See….
I’m good at this stuff.
Last meeting lasted 7 minutes. I give this one 5.
College baseball will be starting up as will legion ball. Baseball is here to watch.
Wonder if MLB heard the catcalls regarding not meeting until later in the month. Wonder if they will be coming to the table serious on making a deal in order to start the season on time.
It won’t be serious. Unfortunately, if either side caved in and gave the other side exactly what they wanted in all but one little thing, the other side would still try to get that one little thing going their way, too. Because of this, both sides are leery of giving too much away, regardless of how much they get. I’m just hoping it’s a little more serious than the last round. The proposals by both sides were laughable.
Why should MLB make revenue sharing an off limits subject? That seems like an issue between rich and poor clubs not PA. Sounds like smokescreen they will change it if PA gives up something for nothing.
A whopping 3.4% increase… Wow.. With inflation at 7% this is still a joke… Boras wants $2 mil. a year as the base… I agree..
While that’s great. It really falls on deaf ears when contracts are 30MM and salaries for the median of the population aren’t really increasing all that much.
I do feel owners need to loosen the control they have on a player from when they become professionals. Look at Tommy Pham who was drafted outside of high school but didn’t become a FA until this year at age 33.
No other sport has such control on players while they’re making minor league salaries with no potential in a raise unless they’re promoted to the majors. Obviously it’s be a benefit to both to be good enough to be promoted, but there are only so many spots for those players that teams want to stash as a project.
Also yea the core economics of baseball is to dangle the hope that one day you’ll be good enough to earn a salary like Bryce Harper, but you have to balance your health and be good enough to be there at a young age in 6/7 years after debuting in the majors.
Football, basketball are signing amateurs for 60M+ from day one, and baseball takes advantage of the large sample size it takes to compensate a players performance.
Maybe players drafted in the first 3 rounds should be subject to a contract likened to other sports.
The median mlb salary has DECLINED by 30 percent over the term of the last CBA. The average salary has dropped a bit, but the median has plummeted as teams sign players earning in the minimum salary category rather than vetarans just reaching free agency.
Median income for the working class has rose 10.3% in 2021. Much faster than inflation. Much larger than the owners proposal as well. MLB players are entertainers.
The highest paid movie actor and actress made $84 million and $56 million respectively in 2021. The highest paid TV actors made more than $1 million per episode. That is what you need to compare player salaries to, not the general population.
Where is this 10.3% statistic from? Best I could find was an increase of roughly 1-3%.That being said I’d rather have a 3% increase on 20MM vs 10% on 65k.
That all being said, the increase should bear more risk with the players then. For example tying in revenue with the team salary tax cap.
Working class, not economy as a whole. Check DOL.gov
Owners have to open books to tie anything to revenue. They have refused to do so.
The MLBPA asked for $1 million. This is not even a legitimate proposal.
Breathe:
$2 million as a base is just crazy talk.
Maybe 1 day service time: $700,000
1 year service time: $800,000
2 years service time: $900,000
This will just be a start the ball kind of proposal. They have multiple ready. The serious ones will come out once the Union chooses there priorities. There is no way they get everything they want, and they know that. League puts this out and then depending on what the Union responds most strongly to they will put out a serious one based on Union response. In my opinion Union should focus on anti-tanking. The more teams trying to win, the more teams will be competing for free agents and the more the players will make.
Raising the Luxury Tax level will only effect a few teams large market teams. They will just spend more on the top few free agents. And continue the cycle we are in now. The players need more teams spending, not just 5 or 6 spending more. This will also lead more teams to signing the mid tier 1 or 2 WAR players, driving there price up. Instead of forcing them out.
Don’t expect much change in the handling of young players. Teams take on all the cost of scouting, signing, training, developing, and rehabbing them when they get hurt. And for every player that becomes a star and makes the team money, there are hundreds that don’t. That cost per failure gets spread across the few success stories. Unlike doctors who incur tremendous financial debt on schooling and still don’t make a lot of money until many years as a successful doctor. Teams will not be willing to give up much on the value of the successes while maintaining all of the risks and sunk costs on all the non successes.
If both sides could put their egos and animosity for each other aside, they could realize that more teams trying to win gives players more money. And makes a better product that will increase interest and make more money for owners. Working together they could make more money for both. But instead they want to bicker and try to damage the other. And only in up damaging both and costing both. Common sense would tell them that instead of fighting over who gets a bigger piece of the pie, working together to make a bigger pie. Then both sides get a bigger piece.
End of my rant. Lol
Thursday will last 30 minutes if lucky. Then they will meet again in 2 weeks and still have no agreement. Unless the owners agree to revenue sharing like the NFL and the players agree to a salary max cap and min cap then the deal isn’t going to fix the main problem of the game. Yes we all know analytics has made the playing field more even but having teams with 200M+ rosters versus those under 50M makes for a less competitive league and therefore a less interesting one. Make the max hard cap 250M(soft max cap 225M(base it on revenue% say 48%), Lower hard cap at 175M, give Bird rights like the NBA so teams can resign generational players, raise minimum salary to 1M, make arbitration time easier to understand (IE..you play any amount of games for three years in a row you are eligible), FA after 5 years. add two more teams — after Oakland and Tampa figure out their stadium issues and get back to a balanced schedule. Not rocket science there is plenty of money for the owners left to get even more rich than they are now. Not going to hold my breath though that these two sides come to an agreement to actually improve the game though.
Who is the negotiator for MLB? Is it Rob Manfred? If it is the owners should just sign whatever and get it over with.
The veteran players hate spring training and will make sure some of it is postponed.BIG BABIES and overpaid as is.I hope the league cancels the season.Baseball is done ruined
by these creeps who need to get real jobs and work for a living.
If they can iron out a few agreements it should help overall. Wishful thinking.
Not happening this year. Prepare for 2023. Sorry, Mets fans, you’ll need to wait until next year to win the championship.
MLBPA better stand strong. Spending floor + reduced service time for rookies. Otherwise, MLB can do whatever they’d like regarding expanded playoffs.
The players are not asking for a salary floor. They have this outdated idea that a floor is the flip side of a cap. But they already HAVE a defacto cap! They gave it away in previous talks
I believe what they are asking for is conditions on revenue sharing, requiring teams to spend on salaries. I hope that’s the case, because tweaking the draft order isn’t going to do a thing to prevent tanking. Teams tank for money, not for draft picks.
If the owners can cut you at anytime, then players should also be able to leave at anytime and sign elsewhere. Problem solved. Now get back to work.
It doesn’t matter, baseball has guaranteed contracts. So if you get cut you still get paid.
Is it the first Tnursday this week or the second Thursday this week?
No idea, but… Jeff posted on Twitter at 10:15 AM · Jan 11, 2022. Since Jan 11 2022 is Tuesday, I would assume that, when someone says they will do something on Thursday, it would be the coming Thursday, or 2-days from now.. With that said, nothing is guaranteed and you would need to ask Jeff directly to confirm that information. He might not even give you a straight answer.
I hope that clears everything up! 🙂
Hopefully the players realize that if their last deal was “bad,” that was their own fault and they can’t rearrange everything radically in their favor in this next agreement. They should aim for progress; enough to make things better for them without potentially cancelling games.
We need to lock Bob Nightengale in a cell and not let him out until he addresses his tweet that Trevor Bauer to the Mets was “official.”
I think they need to start from scratch, but there isn’t time for that.
So extend the last CBA for 1 season to play 2022
Then each side submits their offer on each and every point in the CBA.
Then point by point they negotiate. Of course trade offs will resolve multiple points simultaneously.
Pick a date and any and all points not agreed to go to arbitration scheduled in November 2022.
New CBA in place by 1/1/2023 and no missed baseball.
The MLBPA will never, ever give the owners another year of this sweetheart CBA.
It take 2 to tango. Why did Tony and the players association agree to the last one IF there are things their not happy with. No one forced them to agree and ratify it. Now it’s “we don’t like….,we don’t like….,the owners are screwing us on …”
The players will approve a deal, then they’ll start complaining about something-guarenteed.
A fair point. The players have themselves to blame for the current CBA, but they’re not going to extend it, nor should they.
They also have a fair point about getting screwed by the owners’ behavior over the last five years as many teams took revenue sharing dollars and made no effort to compete Now is the time to address that, and they shouldn’t agree to another deal unless it’s addressed.
Even if they did extend the current CBA, there’s no reason to not include the terms that both sides seem to agree on. Others will take some hard bargaining. We’re not at that point yet.
Is it really so bad for a MLB player?
85% are paid far more than what 99.99% of the people reading this will ever make. The least among them, the young mid-20’s, should be thankful for $570,500 per year — for every player earning that after 3 years, there are 2 players in AAA ready to take it.
Why suggest I’m working at Taco Bell? I did work at minimum wage some 65 years ago @ 16 yo although it was bagging groceries for tips.
You make a good case for the actors who carry a movie or a show but a single baseball player — one of 26 on a MLB roster — does not carry a team in the same sense. Players who are individually “irreplaceable” are compensated very well. Whether they should receive $250,000 per hit or $500,000 per home run could be argued but 250 hits or 50 HRs is a top season and doing it will guarantee 5-10 years at a very generous salary.
The point actually was about the “minimum wage” of more than a half-million is quite generous and doing it for 3 years (in some cases 2.25) will guarantee from tens of millions to 100’s.
No. Baseball provides nothing of intrinsic value.
Comparing a baseball player to an actor is bolony.
I sit here watching a 60 y.o. Gary Cooper movie…..
You analogy is bolony.
Speak for yourself. I make more than a player on MLB minimum makes and I am certainly not in the top 700 in my field on the planet. There are people in their 20s in my field that make a solid 7 figure income per year.
I think we found the problem. You are stuck in the 1960s.
There are hundreds of people involved in any movie with 40-50 being actors. The star makes huge dollars. There are 40 players involved in a team. The superstar player makes huge dollars. There is no difference.
We can all agree that kindergarten teachers and ICU nurses are more important than backup baseball players and actors with bit movie roles. But supply and demand dictates most salaries. But here baseball has a monopoly while allows the owners to get increases in equity, higher profits and less competition. So we need to demand more for the fans. Even more free games on television and internet. A small number of games with cheap nosebleed seats that are available through a lottery process. Etc. Really good players deserve to make more sooner and less later. Increases to base salaries and more insurance and benefits for minor leaguers.
Gary Cooper, who died in 1961, made the equivalent of $100 million in today’s money. He was not the top actor of the 1940s or 1950s. Not even in the top 10.
Sounds like about what a very good but not great player makes today in his career.
I sit here watching the 1962 World Series. It has as much intrinsic value as that Gary Cooper film.
The analogy is a perfect one.
Very poor example. The Kindergarten teachers are all getting paid without working in this age of Covid. They too have a greedy union that defies the rules of economics. Why should I pay taxes when they are not teaching my kid?
Typical clueless parent are a leading reason why teachers are quitting their jobs at record rates. I taught for 10 years in my second career. So many times, I wanted to punch daddies like you in the face.
I found the internet tough guy!
Players will not accept an extension of the previous CBA. It was so bad for them that they would consider that a complete loss. If the owners do not come to the table with some realistic proposals before March 31st, the players will simply strike.
Repeating, but
I don’t think the issues are as insurmountable as some believe they are.
– They will increase the minimum wage, just a question of how much
– They will increase the CBT tax threshold, just a question of how much
– They will implement a universal DH
– They will get rid of the payment of compensation for signing free agents
– They will expand the playoffs, at least to 12 teams, but to get `14 will require greater concessions to players
– They will put patches on uniforms that net about 6 to 8 million in revenue per team
– They will tweak the amateur draft, probably adding a lottery, but that won’t really address tanking, since teams tank for money and not for draft picks, IMO
– They will probably tweak the arbitration eligibility, somewhere between 2.116 where it is this year, and two years. Maybe around 2.5 years
– They’re not moving the six year requirement for free agency. If the players get anything on this point, it will be a lesser definition to count one year of service time (presently 172 days)
One possible sticking point is what the players are demanding with respect to how teams spend revenue sharing dollars. Obviously, their proposals touched a nerve since Manfred shut down the talks when they wouldn’t take it off the table, but it’s a huge issue to players as a key part of the anti-tanking issue.
Still, these parties can be stubborn and will hold out until the last minute hoping to get some last minute concessions. Until regular season games are in peril, there’s not much incentive to sign a deal.
Oh, and there is this grievance filed, which the payers are asking for $500 million, over the failure of owners to use best efforts to play as many games as possible in 2020. That’s another major concession that the players could make to get some of the things that they want in a new CBA.
The MLBPA desperately needs to chip away at the 6-7 year requirement to play before becoming a free agent.
You must be a fan of a large market team. The 6 year control rule helps the small markets stay more competitive. Otherwise you might as well get rid of half the league who won’t be able to compete.
About teams tanking and getting high draft picks. Take the top 4-6(or whatever) teams than just miss the playoffs, randomly get the top picks. The incentive to compete for the playoffs without falling in the draft. Example; Mariners just missed the playoffs and could get a top 4-6 pick. Those that are truly tanking(pit,balt,..)don’t get the benefit of the top picks.
Revenue sharing; not spending to add to MLB roster and improve the talent on the field- you loss some of it. As in, you don’t get $30m, maybe only $10 or $15M.
Thursday? Thirteen days into the New Year. I’ll give them Monday, Jan 3rd as a holiday, but they should have been back to work on Tuesday, like the rest of us. So, with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report in 32 days, I’m sure there’s plenty of time to hammer out a settlement. NOT!
Shut it down for the season please im tired of hearing about this crap.Stick a knife in baseball.The owners are all creeps and the players are spoiled brats they need to see what it is like to work a job on the midnight shift and try to support a family on 50k a year. or less.
“Entering that meeting, the league had reportedly informed the MLBPA it would only entertain core economics discussions that didn’t involve changes to revenue sharing, six-year free agency eligibility and the existing eligibility requirements (for the most part, three years of service time) for arbitration”
Seems like there’s nothing to talk about, then, and it’s the owners’ fault. I get that you make a point and then negotiate in from it, but if that’s their stance, then I don’t blame the MLBPA one bit here.
Patrick Mahomes has a 10 year, $450M contract but it is not fully guaranteed. He is guaranteed to only make $141 million. .This enables the KC Chiefs to retool quickly if he is unable to play. Additionally, much of the payroll in the NFL is earned in makeable bonuses such as a roster bonus, workout bonus or other bonus. This gives further flexibility to the teams to sign other players should the original roster be unable to play while staying under the cap. As a result, the NFL only has a 15% variance between the most and least expensive rosters.
In MLB, team payrolls vary from $235M for the Mets to $29M for the Guardians. Most of the teams below $100M are going to be non-competitive. That is about half the league. MLB has painted itself into a corner with fully guaranteed contracts. Teams cannot get out from under the bad contract without tanking and/or trading prospects with the bad contract during a rebuild. It takes longer for draft picks in baseball to contribute. So, trading away the farm in baseball is like missing an entire draft in football. It exacerbates the problem. The longer a team is non-competitive the more likely attendance and revenues will decline. MLB will never have competitive balance or payroll fairness until it revises its financial model for player contracts eliminating the full contract guarantees.
The Guardians payroll is actually going to be a bit higher when you factor in pre-Arb and Arb players, though not by much as Shane Bieber is the only one making anything significant. Something like $45-50 million, which is crazy when you consider that Scherzer alone makes around that much.
Actually the tribe might be near 100 million when all said and done. That’s what they have hinted in past. See if it holds true.
MLBPA will never and, should never, agree to a salary cap. Would you agree to cap what you are able to earn. Salary caps are just agreed upon collusion. A player should earn whatever a team is willing to pay, and teams should be able to pay whatever they feel is market value. Non-guaranteed contracts are the problem with the NFL not the solution for MLB. Mahomes shouldn’t have a silly fake money deal that isn’t binding for the team. Webster’s defines contracts as “a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law”. Players should only agree to a cap if owners agree to cap their earnings as well. And lets cap ticket prices, beers, parking, and apparel. I would rather have no baseball than a salary cap.
Every union in the country has a wage scale that serves as a salary cap. What is the point of any business engaging with a union if not to ensure fairness in compensation for the employees? If there is going to be no cap then you have chaos. It is the MLBPA that has failed in its mission.
How many unions are left in this country? Only a bad union would agree to a pay cap? All labor laws establish a floor, not a ceiling. I want to be in the Bill Gates union and have his salary cap. A union should be collectively bargaining for the best deal for the workers, not setting limits on how much the union members can earn.
Nothing wrong with a salary cap, but it would have to be over $300 million with automatic cost of living adjustments. So it would change nothing that currently exists except if Mets were planning on increasing payroll by another $100 million.
The irony of it all was Cleveland got 3 more wins for 200 million less. Maybe spending less is better? or maybe the mets is just a crap organization? hmm..
And the NFL has a terrible system. Contracts should 100% be guaranteed, otherwise it’s not a contract. If you want to structure it with performance bonuses, you do that up front. Once the ink is dry, the money should be count spent.
Or would you be in favor of letting players also void deals if they’re unhappy with the team? That’d be a two-way street.
A contract is something two or more parties sign outlining the rights and responsibilities of both. If the NFL players and the teams sign it, it is, in fact, a contract. It just allows owners the right to terminate that contract.
Besides, if you made contracts fully guaranteed in the NFL, total value and length of these deals would go down markedly. Injury is an inherent risk, so the only way these contracts can be so high is if there’s some way for the owners to not have to pay in certain cases.
The guarantee contract is what is killing MLB. The NFL figured it out long ago. That is why NFL attendance and viewership is at an all time high and baseball is no longer America’s past time. Half of the MLB teams are not competitive. Why invest your emotions, time and money in a team whose season is over before it has started. This is not a hobby for rich owners. This is an entertainment business. Profits are essential to sustain any business.
NFL offers guarantees via bonuses. When they offer a RB $100M/10, the RB knows he has no shot of getting $100M. To this end, maybe the contract might be written as a $20M signing bonus plus $80M/10. When the RB gets cut in three years, it effectively became a $50M/3 contract.
It’s similar in baseball when they give Betts $365M/12. That’s more like a $365M/9 contract, since he will likely not be worth much at ages 37-39.
The NFL shares 100% of revenue equally between teams. The difference in revenue between the top teams and the bottom teams is negligible.
In MLB the difference in revenue between the top 2 teams and the bottom 3 teams is over $400 million. The Yankees brought in $712 million in 2021 while the bottom 3 teams brought in $250 million. 1 of those 3 teams was a playoff teams.
MLB has had more teams in the playoffs and more teams win the Championship than the NFL.
All in all, I cannot find anything you said that makes any sense in terms of MLB.
Cap it up 140 and 160.
Woah there MLB calm down the season might actually start 2 months late at this rate.
So the owners come and make another joke of a proposal that does nothing to address any of the players demands. Typical so far this off season.
Going from $575k to 600k is not making much of a change in how younger players are paid. Service time issues are key to getting younger players paid sooner.
Do the owners think that the MLBPA’s lead negotiator is stupid? Do they think the fans are stupid?
The owners always count on the fans to turn on the players. You already see in the posts here that they should have caps and they make millions to “play a game”. The only thing worse is making millions owning a team that plays a game!
Agreed. If the owners don’t make real concessions, I support the players not budging and skipping the season. Let the billionaires explain that to their broadcast partners.
I echo what you guys seem to be feeling… but quite honestly I didn’t expect anything more from a first shot salvo from the Owners. First offers are never accepted nor “close” to fair intentions.
This is a 3rd shot from the owners and it doesn’t include any of the core points.
My apologies, I meant first proposal since taking the winter break. I didn’t intend to mislead anyone.
arkraxm
The owners always count on the fans to turn on the players.
=================================
That’s because the union is stupid.
When the owners offer to raise the minimum wage from $570k to $700k, most people will estimate that to be about 20% and think that’s a heck of a raise.
When the players give out statements like ‘they look at that unfavorably’, they look hopelessly greedy. Same as when their opening bid for the salary cap was 20% than the current cap.
They are talking to their selected writers, but without saying why they don’t like the proposal and without making a counter-offer. If you were buying a house, how long would you engage a person who says ‘no’, but won’t say why, and won’t give you a counteroffer?
$600k. The owners offered to raise the MLB minimum to $600k in 2022 and then go up to $700k in 2026.
Reading comprehension is fundamental to preparing a viable argument. Your reading comprehension must be seriously lacking because your wasn’t a viable one.
What other people make is not in question here. What the players make as a percentage of the revenue they create is in question. In 2021 they owners paid just 38% including signing bonuses, salaries, and benefit. Not nearly enough. When the owners say that they don’t want to increase that as much as the revenue of the sport has gone up they look hopelessly greedy.
There are only so many players, the union reps, that can talk about the deal with any kind of knowledge. That is why just a few are talking to the media.
The MLBPA has made two counter offers. They have been waiting since November for a counter offer from the owners.
Try again. Start by rereading this article then read the great pieces by Drellich and Passan about what both sides are proposing.
You are correct. That was a material slip on my part. But that is still 22% over 5 years. What did the union propose?
And I read the links for Drellich & Passan, and the contained nothing new. All I know is that the union has asked for a 1st year increase in the payroll tax from $210M to $245M, an increase of 17%, with a 5-year increase tp a more palatable 24% over 5 years. What else have they proposed?
IRT to 38% of revenues, my understanding is that the owners offered in excess of 50% or the revenue earlier on. The players declined and were wrong. They aren’t get a mulligan.
Make ’em an offer they can’t refuse
I don’t get the players being against tanking, but wanting the luxury tax threshold increased. Wouldn’t that widen the gulf and exacerbate the plight of the poor, leading to more tanking ?
The CBT threshold is too low. There are 14 teams that had enough revenue in 2021 to surpass it and still be in the black. In other words, making a profit. 2 did surpass it and one of those was a small market team.
The problem, tanking, is not that teams don’t have the money to spend, its that some owners are taking a huge profit. There are many examples, but one that was given recently illustrates the point best. The Pirates had $285 million in revenue. That means they could spend over $140 million on player payroll and still make a profit. They spent $61 million. Nutting received about $70 million in revenue sharing according to Forbes. He didn’t even spend all of the money he got from thee big market teams in revenue sharing on payroll. In essence he pocketed $80 million in excess profits. If I owned the Yankees or Dodgers I would be pretty mad that I contributed tens of millions just so Nutting could line his pockets.
Every team in baseball had $250 million in total revenue in 2021. All of them could afford to spend $125 million on payroll and be a profitable business. Even small market teams like the Brewers and Padres are over $300 million in revenue.
I can see a team spending a little less than 50% of revenue for a year or two so they could do what the Padres did and spend much more for a few years. That a double digit number of teams are not spending close to that is the problem.
Take your time MLBPA. I’m kind of looking forward to becoming a replacement player. All that matters is the name on the front of the jersey; not the back of the jersey.
I disagree. I don’t care what jersey, with all due respect, I ain’t spending a dime to watch you play.
How many unions are left in this country? Only a bad union would agree to a pay cap? All labor laws establish a floor, not a ceiling. I want to be in the Bill Gates union and have his salary cap. A union should be collectively bargaining for the best deal for the workers, not setting limits on how much the union members can earn.
how terribly shocking! who could have seen this coming?
Welp can’t say I’m surprised by the MLBPA’s reaction…
Would be nice if the MLBPA came with their own proposal.
They have made 3 so far. They have been waiting a very long time for a counter proposal from MLB owners.
Union turns down a proposal and offers absolutely nothing in response. Seems like there’s a one sided conversation right now.
They can’t do a counter proposal until they see the owners’ proposal, which they didn’t submit until six weeks after they locked out the players. It’s not like the owners get six weeks between proposals and the players get six seconds.
To be fair to the owners (for the record I think they are both in the wrong), I didn’t see the MLBPA submit anything in the last six weeks.
The players are the ones being locked out. It’s up to the owners to submit a proposal first.
The ball is in MLBPA court now.
MLB is playing a very stupid game of chicken with it’s fans as I believe if these greedy POS go out on strike this time fans won’t be coming back as they have had enough of money grubbing POS wanting more $$$$$$. Baseball is in big trouble if any games are missed.
NO ONE CARES. COME TO AN AGREEMENT AND STOP WASTING OUR TIME.
At some point I’ll be ok with them pissing away the whole season. Once nobody gets paid both sides will realize they have a pretty good thing going. I’m not at that point yet, but they might screw around and get me there.
My team just won it all. There’s no guarantee that they repeat but I don’t want to lose a season during their championship window.
Not well received?!?!? I am SHOCKED!
As expected. No one thought the owners’ offer would be good right out of the gate.
It took the owners’ negotiators six weeks to make this proposal after they locked out the players out on December 1, so in fairness, the players response should come at the end of February.
That’s the problem. “Right out of the gate” is SIX WEEKS AFTER the lockout began.
By design, no doubt. I’m sure it was intentionally done to try to frame the players as the ones that will hold up the season in the public eye. The MLB owners have always used slimey negotiation tactics.
Just relocate the worst teams in the league (Pirates, Orioles, Mets, Marlins) and get the season back on track.
Relocate your comment to the trash bin
Both sides r so out of touch….
Let’s see a show of hands as to how many here are surprised at the latest update… I’ll wait…
(…and wait, and wait, and wait…)
Baseball best get a clue. Professional baseball is not the most popular sport. I myself being 65 grew up loving this game,playing this game, coaching my kids in the community. Now I am an umpire. Living here in Southern California the game is played year round with all the travel ball and tournaments. The ratings I thought have been declining. It seems they are driving fans away. They don’t seem to care about the fans. Fans are starting to do and spend their money on something else. They the owners and players should beware. The future is not so bright. Keep pushing us away and see the results.
Is it inappropriate to use the word “secede”? I’m thinking that Atlanta and the two Florida teams should secede from MLB and create a new Southeast Baseball League with teams in Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Louisville, Birmingham, Columbia and Virginia Beach.
Whoa! Them’s fightin’ words, son!
I’m not opposed to a Southwest League either. Take the current two Texas teams and Arizona and then add San Antonio, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Mexico City and Monterrey.
Lol, love the pivot…nice! Especially Monterrey! What about the Monterrey Expos, as a throwback Thursday of sorts?
Baseball becoming a joke quickly
How so? What did you expect?
Neither side is losing money now, so it’s all posturing. There won’t be a deal until the 11th hour.
Of course it wasn’t well accepted. Both sides are completely tone deaf and selfish. There’s no more defending the players, and I’ve always hated the owners. This is a disgrace in all honesty.
Yeah, like all good things they’ll both ruin it and then question later how it ever got so bad, never figuring out why.
Baseball loses more fans going through this crap, if they don’t fix it, imho, than they do by having games that are too slow.
But there’s still time…although I have no confidence in either side, negotiation conclusion is the only thing that will be able to fulfill both sides’ greed, so at least there’s a motivator. Let’s just hope they’re not asinine enough to let pride override greed.
Step one….check
Step two….check
Step three….pending
Hi Clipper! Hope all is well with you. All is good here in Nashville.
Great to hear, my friend. I would prefer certain things be different right now, but honestly, I’m thankful for everything God has given me because I deserve none of it.
Yes! Every time I feel like complaining about something, I remember the phrase my pastor uses: “That sounds like a first world problem.” We are blessed beyond what we deserve.
Man, Prov, that is so right. I wasn’t referring to baseball either, just to clarify. I wish this were my biggest issue. But, nonetheless, we trust, we have faith in Him and move forward in His will, Jer.29:11.
One of my favorite scriptures. Let me know what I can pray for.
prov3566 hours ago
Yes! Every time I feel like complaining about something, I remember the phrase my pastor uses: “That sounds like a first world problem.”
===================================
Americans are hopelessly spoiled. I had Covid last week, and was getting annoyed at lines, and waiting, and jumping thru hoops for my employer.
Then it would dawn on me some of the issues other people have, and it truly pales in comparison,
Very true Joe Brady. Good perspective.
I don’t really have much an issue yet. I would have liked for the owners to have submitted a proposal before today, but it’s going to take the pressure of the camps not opening and a delay in the season for both sides to get serious. I don’t believe we’ll have a true read on this until the players respond to this proposal and then maybe we hear there’s some common ground they’re working toward.
Step three…players will submit their counter propsal.
Step four…owners reject counter proposal.
The question is how many steps happen before we get this:
Step X…MLB and MLBPA announce agreement on a new CBA.
Is that Roman numerals? Step X as in Step 10? As a concerned fan, I’ll take that. Let’s hope no meaningful games are lost… but one can’t help but feel this is ridiculous. All CBA work should have been done by now, but nobody wants to blink.
Yeah, you’re right Rob. Both sides are attempting to use the time crunch as leverage on the other side… So deny, deny, deny, deny, until both lose enough time & money to move forward.
We should have a poll with an over under of proposals/responses too. Like, the over under is… seven proposals/counter proposals until it’s resolved, for example.
All the hand wringing and threats to leave baseball. It’s all posturing. Let it play out. Baseball is nothing more than a source of entertainment. If the season starts late, find another source of entertainment until the season starts. Just stop the drama. It’s like I’m in the midst of a group of high school girls.
“ It’s like I’m in the midst of a group of high school girls.”
Lolol
Prov:
Respectfully, duh. Aside from the obvious sexist aspect of your attributing certain emotions to girls rather than boys, the internet is filled with pervs who want to be in the middle of a group of high school girls.
Good. Someone choosing to be offended on behalf of a group he is not a member of.
Prov:
So you think men should sit back and be silent when women are stereotyped and insulted?
My high school girls are extremely dramatic. The boys? Not so much. The stereotype is not offensive but merely observational. Carry on, gentlemen and be well.
I have one of each. It’s not even close. I used to drive my daughter’s teammates home from basketball games, and turn the radio down low. It’s interesting to listen to some of them go off. Not all of them though. And some of this relates to maturity, and self-confidence.
This isn’t a judgement call here. Guys get called out all the time for keeping their emotions to themselves. It isn’t better or worse, just different. And most girls will readily admit that. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a girl say that girls aren’t more emotional.
“WHITE SILENCE IS VIOLENCE”! How about you white liberals stop telling colored people and women what to be offended by.
There will be no substantive movement until the principals start suffering significant monetary harm. Wake me up on Feb 26 when real leverage begins to be exerted.
“Passan ominously adds that an on-time start to Spring Training ‘is in peril.'”
Yep. And so is a significant chunk of the regular season.
I don’t think we’re seeing the beginnings of a supposed resumption of serious negotiations, as much as we’re nearing the start of an all-too-real war of attrition.
I’d love to be wrong about that, but for now (and really for the last couple of years) all signs just continue to point in that direction.
At this point Passan is being a bit overdramatic. They have about a month before spring training even starts so there is some time, if they are serious, to get things worked out. The question is how serious is either side to get things worked out.
@tigerdoc616 A month for Spring Training, but teams don’t even have full rosters yet. Spring Training has to be delayed IMO. You can’t sign all these FAs in that short span.
You can. I mean, just because the owners locked out the players doesn’t mean FO’s and coaching staffs aren’t working together, doing scouting on last year’s video, putting together proposals and contingency plans for remaining FA and trade targets, etc. You’ll see a flurry when this is all done because a lot of the background work will have already been done.
This is a standard, overly dramatic statement from Passan. Not saying Passan doesn’t do good stuff (he does), but he’s regularly over the top. So what’s he basing this statement on? He doesn’t know what was in the proposal. He doesn’t know when the players will respond. All of us knew the players would reject today’s initial proposal. That statement adds nothing to what we know already.
Maybe it’s less about Passan being dramatic and more about him (like me) being genuinely pessimistic – and based on more than just the most recent machinations.
Nobody’s got a crystal ball, obviously.
It was in peril on December 1, and put more in peril when the two sides could only agree on not talking to each other for the rest of month.
BRING ON THE REPLACEMENT PLAYERS!!
I’d like to see a women’s league.
There should only be two teams of replacement players…the Omaha Dragons and the Wichita Warlocks.
Because that worked out so well last time. I’m mean who wouldn’t want pay to watch a bunch of minor league washouts fumble and bumble their way through meaningless games?
Thursday comes and MLBPA has an unfavorable response to the owners proposal. Like saying water is wet. But would be nice to know exactly what was proposed. I suppose I should be patient as those details will likely be forthcoming. But &)*(@ I want details!!!
I’m also curious, but it’s probably a good sign that they’re keeping it tight rather than slagging each other to the media like they’ve done previously. At least that way they don’t take public positions that are impossible to back out of.
I miss the days of Bud Selig and Donald Fehr trading insults in the press. Work stoppages were much more fun back then.
Sprint training is in peril? So what else is new. Not sure that final statement of Passen adds anything to what we already know.
Spring Training Countdown 2022!: 31 Days, 08 Hours
One step closer to my dream of robot players and umps.
Mine too!
OK, but with robot owners too.
Go be accountants, mechanics, engineers, etc if the pay isnt up to your standards
All this melodrama and hand ringing by Passan et al is ridiculous. These negotiations are going as should have been anticipated. Both sides have to prove to their clients they are strong, but they all know a deal will be reached on Feb 26 and the season will start on time. Who cares about spring training. It goes on too long and is unnecessary. Players generally work out in the off-season and all should be good to go with at most three weeks of games. Not like pitchers throw more than 6 innings anymore anyway.
Any proposal from the owners is going to be garbage. I’d rather the players submit proposals of their own. At least they’ll be more interesting.
I’d honestly rather see a couple of independent negotiators submit proposals, ones that, unlike the garbage put forth by both sides so far, actually has a snowball’s chance in Hell of going over with the other side. Each party is making the smallest incremental step toward middle ground that it can, then blaming the other party for not conceding on the rest.
“in the fans best interest”….. then the proposals should be 1. Caps on the stadium prices for tickets, food, beverages and parking. 2. Caps on cable access pricing 3. Minimum Team Payrolls……. and whatever it takes financially to get these in place should be split between lowering player salaries and lowering team revenues. All set. Now let’s play ball!
I feel for the guy on the fringes of a roster. Performing during Spring training is important to those guys. The uncertainty would suck.
What we really need now is a coach rejecting the Mets, or a team refusing to let one of their coaches interview.
Beyond that, this was expected as noted at the top of the thread.
They’ll get there. Just try to ignore all the temper tantrums along the way.
There is no reason a month off was needed between talks that now leaves Spring Training “in peril”. These selfish pr!@+s.
Frankly, I think it’s time for the MLBPA to go nuclear and get a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress that proclaims MLB to be “interstate commerce” and thus eliminate any remaining defense for MLB’s antitrust exemption.
That exemption never should have been granted in the first place.
I think both sides are dug-in – so much so, that I think both sides have pre-determined that they’ll probably need to prove that they’re willing to take at least something of a financial hit.
They have hardened positions on the core economic issues, and are willing to bleed a little before compromising on them.
I wish it wasn’t so. I just hope that when they’ve finally demonstrated that they can actually both “take a punch” – then they’ll compromise – instead of trying to “win” the negotiations
Tony Clark is an idiot. Doesn’t matter what was in the proposal, he was going to be offended
Independent Arbitrator is the best answer. MLB & MLBPA, you have until Jan 31 to agree or an Arbiter will decide next CBA.
The MLBPA was set to reject the Mets as is the fashionable trend at the moment–untill they realized there was 29 other teams they needed to reject as well.
Not surprising as i don’t think any first offer is ever accepted for anything
Not that they’ll miss me, but if they miss more than a month, I’m done with MLB. I’ll figure something else to watch or I’ll just spend my days doing other things.
That is a great idea.
Jeff Passan is a hack.
0.0
The number of times I will spend money to watch when you ultimately cave.
BYE
It’s a negotiation. Each side wants more than they currently have. Management is offering something that certainly has big give backs, and the Union wants more money. Pick a different industry, it’s still the same dynamic. And neither side, no matter what we’d like, has any duty to us.
I generally go to 3-5 games a year and buy mlb.tv. If they don’t start spring training on time, I won’t renew. I’ll keep my 500+ I spend a year. We should all do that.
Why?? I’m not mad at either side for negotiating with each other. It takes time to work out complicated CBAs. Don’t be an adult baby. A deal will be done at some point and baseball will played. When it is I’m going to watch.
I’ll barely even notice. If they come back on April 30, that’s when I come back.
IMO, fans are getting way, way too wrapped up in this.
Players should take a bad deal to stop gtownfan and those like him from “not spending money to watch” MLB. The networks make the deals. I guess you can cancel your cable subscriptions to really stick it to workers engaged in their right to collectively bargain. Luckily, gtownfans anger won’t be moving the union to accept a bad deal.
And water is wet.
Does anyone care what these greedy pigs do?
My Tigers are ruined for another generation while AA is at the helm. They paid $140M for a clown to play SS so I’m done with MLB for another 6 years it seems.
The root of the money is always going to be about money ballplayers want a bigger piece of the pie while the owners want to pocket as much as they can as well. No one told the players to sign off on the past two negotiations the veterans sold out the young bucks and even though its more about getting the older guys more money if they were really serious they would all jump in to help the minors that is where the root of the problem lies first then you take a look at the international signings and the money they make as opposed to an American kid that does not have that luxury of teams bidding for your services at a young age. The players/owners should agree on a Cap period minimum/maximum to field competitive teams across the board. They should adopt the NFL collective bargaining agreement. Finally the players can’t scream poverty that owners are making all the money when they mishandled the CBA and want to make almost like they are the owners of the teams these owners whether it was handed down to them the franchise or they brought a stake on the team it is within their right to make as much money as possible ask Michael Jordan now that he is an owner would he agree to share his lions worth with the players? Right now you have guys making $40million and soon $50 million (Juan Soto) yet in the minor leagues those players are suffering where is their piece of the pie? You either want a larger piece of the revenue or you want a higher salary you can’t have both .