2:45pm: MLB’s offer to the union, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link), includes a $30MM pre-arbitration bonus pool with no yearly increases, a $700K minimum salary with $10K annual increases, and no changes to prior luxury-tax thresholds ($220MM from 2022-24, $224MM in 2025, $230MM in 2026). That leaves a $55MM gap between the union’s proposed bonus pool (which also includes yearly $5MM increases) and a $25K gap in minimum salary. As for the luxury-tax thresholds, the two sides still face an $18MM gap in 2022 proposals, which grows to a $33MM gap by their proposed 2026 terms.
2:10pm: Major League Baseball is preparing to extend its best and final offer to the Players Association before today’s self-imposed 5:00pm EST deadline, a league spokesperson announced to several reporters (Twitter thread via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). The league official indicated MLB believed there to be a “path to a deal” late last night and agreed to extend its deadline while awaiting a counteroffer regarding the luxury tax.
The league contends that the union’s “tone” has changed today, whereas MLBPA officials have told reporters that their tone has remained consistent (Twitter link via Yahoo’s Hannah Keyser). The union’s message throughout the day has been that, for all the optimism MLB tried to express last night, a good bit of work remained in many key areas. Giants pitcher Alex Wood, who’s been involved on the players’ end throughout the process, adamantly states that the union has “had the same tone all along.” Wood contends, via Twitter, that last night’s optimism from the league was deliberately feigned in an effort to cast blame upon the player’s side if and when talks ultimately failed to produce a deal. Mets catcher James McCann tweets a similar message, accusing MLB of trying to “control the narrative.”
The MLBPA continues to broadcast a desire to negotiate — even beyond the 5pm deadline the league has set — but the league is now once again drawing a hardline status and implying a take-it-or-leave it style offer will soon be made. The league characterizes the forthcoming offer as “fair for both players and clubs.” Based on the manner in which past negotiations have transpired, it’s hard to imagine the union will view things similarly.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that one dispute still, unsurprisingly, centers around the luxury-tax thresholds. MLB’s latest offer reportedly set a $220MM luxury-tax barrier for the next three seasons before climbing to $224MM in 2025 and to $230MM in 2026. The union, meanwhile, proposed first-level thresholds of $238MM in 2022, $244MM in 2023, $250MM in 2024, $256MM in 2025 and $263MM in 2026. Both offers represent slight movement from the parties’ original proposals, but it’s still a large bridge to cross.
Meanwhile, Evan Drellich of The Athletic tweets that the MLBPA dropped its ask on the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $115MM to $85MM — effectively asking each team to contribute $2.83MM rather than the prior ask of $3.83MM. That pool, per Drellich, would increase by $5MM annually over the life of the collective bargaining agreement. Meanwhile, the league remains set at $25MM — roughly $833K per team.
As for the minimum salary, Drellich further tweets that the union has dropped its ask to $725K, with yearly increases of $20K throughout the CBA. The league is offering $675K and an annual increase of $10K, as was reported yesterday.
Public relations tactics like the ones characterized by Wood have been employed throughout these negotiations (and not solely by MLB), but there’s a large portion of the MLB fanbase that cares very little about which side is to “blame.” The broader takeaway from the entire situation is that the scheduled March 31 season opener remains very much in jeopardy. Commissioner Rob Manfred has previously called missing regular-season games a “disastrous outcome” while touting his own track record of labor peace, but that disaster feels closer than at any point to date.
To reiterate, today’s “deadline” is only seen by one of the two parties (the league) as a hard stopping point in talks. It would teeter on impossible to facilitate the optimal four-week Spring Training that Manfred mentioned as a target in mid-February, but if the two sides were to continue talking in the coming days, there’s no reason a deal that at least preserves a March 31 or an early-April start to the season couldn’t be salvaged. For now, MLB is drawing a firm line in the sand in hoping that the players accept an offer that, with just 80 minutes until the purported “deadline,” has yet to even be presented to the union.
In other words, they’ll leave it to the courts.
Listening to Harold Reynolds on mlb network about the labor negotiations is probably worse then waterboarding
MLB offered the players a 12 team playoff package and a 14 team playoff package. The 12 team package included a $30 million prearbitration bonus pool. The 14 team package included a $40+ million pre-arbitration bonus pool. The players are picking the smaller package so there was no way they were going to get the larger bonus pool. MLB’s initial 12 team bonus pool offer was $20 million so in their “best and final offer” they upped it and split the difference between the packages while still allowing the players to pick the smaller 12 team playoff package. I don’t think the owners are going to budge on this any more than they already have. They are leaving an option open for the players to get a larger bonus pool but the players are choosing not to. I wouldn’t call that a “$55 million gap” because the players can easily choose a different package to get a larger pool. They are choosing not to at the moment. I’m actually a little surprised. I thought for sure the players would choose the larger package. The league probably would have upped the larger package by at least $10 million like they did the smaller package. So the players are giving up at least $20 million from their poorest players pockets just to prevent the league from adding 2 more playoff teams. I know the league would make more than $20 million off those 2 teams but those pre-arb players could really use that extra $20 million. I’m not sure why the players are so gung-ho to give away $20 million annual pre-arb dollars just to make sure 2 more teams don’t make the playoffs. I thought the 14 playoff package was much better for the players than the 12 team package is.
Adding 2 more playoff teams (ie 12 team playoffs) is already a major concession. Let’s not forget that the union want to incentivize winning, any concession on expanded playoffs is a win for the league. You can’t go back on the amount of playoff teams, so next cba what will the bargaining position be then for players?
Not to mention those playoff spots will only increase in value over time, so unless the league is able tie the playoff revenue directly to the bonus pool then the league will justify keeping it wherever they want next time around.
They’re going to submit their best offer now? What have they been doing for weeks?! Bad faith negotiating?
It’s a negotiating term; “Best and final offer”. Essentially, it’s your last offer – implying no other, better offer is possible. If you’re buying a house, the seller will ask for “best and final offers” when there’s a competitive bid situation so they can evaluate which offer to choose.
Yeah best and final works for cattle calls but they’re dealing with a singular entity. I think announcing you’re going to be making your best offer does nothing for faith in previous negotiations and makes you look like a liar when you inevitably capitulate in future negotiations. Don’t think it does them much service in the eyes of fans who see that either.
Snoopy-Don’t compare buying a house to a persons livelihood or running a business.
Screw the MLB. I think there’s a new Spring football league!!
But this is certainly not the owner last offer.
lol have you people never been in a negotiation before ?
Not everyone is a businessman idiot
you dont need to be in business to understand how a union negotiation works.
Simonmike
Not everyone is a businessman idiot
=======================
You don’t have to be Warren Buffet to understand how this works. If you ever bought a house, you’d understand that you never give your final offer up front. Not rocket science.
I think what they mean is if the union turns this offer down the negotiations will be stopped for an extended period of time and regular season games will definitely be missed. By law MLB is supposed to keep negotiating but if the union turns this down the league can say any offer more tilted in the unions favor would be bad enough for the league that it would make following through with it pointless for their side. They would likely declare an impasse and push for federal mediation again. Unless the league is posturing it would probably mean all this good will built up since yesterday will go down the drain if the union doesn’t accept whatever the new offer will be.
@roastgobot
If you read it correctly, the owners are giving their best offer now. The players have yet to do so. Would that be bad faith negotiating on the unions part?
What happens when you approach an immovable object with an unstoppable force? Hyperbole and gesticulation for funs sake?
MLBPA has been “shooting for the moon” throughout the negotiations. They continue to blame owners for locking them out and at the same time saying negotiations could continue if owners would open the camps.
MLBPA talks about the owners not negotiating in “good faith.” It works both ways.
If owners agreed to open the camps tomorrow and continue negotiations would MLBPA be willing to immediately sign an agreement they would also negotiate in “good faith,” would not strike during the regular season, All-Star game, playoffs, or World Series?
That’s the thing, Redwolves. If the players would sign an agreement saying they will take as long as it needs to negotiate while not going on strike, the owners would lift the lockout right now. The lockout is in place because the players refuse to lose the leverage of striking at the worst possible moment for owners and the owners would rather have a work stoppage now than come playoff time. They really aren’t trying to negotiate with each other as much as hold on to all their leverage. Even I have to admit that when the players say, “We are willing to play. It’s the owners locking us out.” It may technically be true for the time being but the players are not willing to do what it takes to make that happen. The players are not willing to sign any kind of short term agreement to guarantee they don’t pull the rug out from under the owners at the worst possible moment. The worst thing for the owners side right now would be to lift the lockout and have the players strike right before the playoffs. The players won’t guarantee that won’t happen and that’s why the lockout is in place. Timing is everything. Right now, the owners can use timing against the players during the offseason. If they didn’t, the players would probably use timing against the owners during the post season. I see both sides but I would rather have an offseason lockout over a postseason strike. It would be terrible if the teams played for their playoff spots and then the players went on strike right before the playoffs started. That would damage baseball more than anything in history. Playing the season with a playoff strike would be much worse than playing no season at all. A lot of people are talking about it here in Jupiter. Most people side with the players but they also side with the fans. The players say they are the ones that want to negotiate and are willing to play. A lot of media people down here are saying why don’t the players just sign to guarantee no strike for 1 season if they are honestly willing to play the whole way through with no strike? Food for thought.
Ohhhh, bad tone. Bad, MLBPA, bad. No milk and cookies before bedtime.
Hello darkness my old friend….
Ron Howard:
“It was not their best offer”
Haha, thank you
This just in: if the “best” offer doesn’t work, MLB will then introduce its “bester” offer. The owners will not, however, resort to any “bestest” offers.
They’re doing as-bestest they can, but it’s immolation all around.
The owners are changing from Times New Roman to Arial font.
That’s a Helvetica of an idea.
Really, it has come to this…………font puns?!?!?!
it’s the futura. get on board.
@tiger, You are but our Minion.
Hey I resent that! I can sink MUCH lower than font puns, thank you very much!
is there a sarcastica font?
Got a couple of comic sans here, I see.
Well, it’s far too important to just Wingding it.
It’s not going to be settled today, let’s be real.
The only option at this point is to settle this dispute inside THUNDERDOME.
I’m not mentally prepared for the signing and trading frenzy that will follow if this goes through today.
I play Stratomatic baseball online, and in most leagues there’s a waiver draft, followed by a “frenzy” where all free agents are first-come, first-served. I make sure to be at my computer at the appointed time or I miss out. That’s what I envision Day 1 after an agreement being like… or like the trading floor at the end of “Trading Places”…
Uncle, I haven’t played Strat in years. I really miss it
I still think a deal will be done by 5 pm dead line
If not, they paid a lot of lawyers a lot of money to burn fruitless midnight oil.
Thank goodness. It sounds like they’re finally throwing the bucket of sunflower seeds.
MLB owners are spoiled brats. Final offer? Like forever? The players have already given in too much. Tell the owners to take a hike.
Final offer before the deadline there genius.
I don’t understand why people don’t understand that there has to be a final offer. You have to draw a line in the sand at some point.
You can only have a final offer if you are willing to walk away and never make another offer. In this case it amounts to destroying your business.
@fffbbb
The players are only gaining. They haven’t given away anything they already have from the last CBA. The owners gain is the expanded play offs, which will provide additional revenue, which will allow payrolls to increase. Even the things the owners want benefits the players, too.
Meh. The players have been receiving a smaller share of revenue for years. They’re trying to get their piece of the pie back. I don’t agree with all their asks, but yeah, the owners don’t want anything to change because they love the deal they have now.
If you don’t set deadlines, nothing gets done. It’s like if you remember being in school. How many times did you have weeks to get a project done but spent the night before it was due pulling an all-nighter to get it done?
To fffbbb: tell the owners to take a hike? Really? If I remember correctly, it’s the owners who pay the players. If the owners take that hike, how do those players get paid?
I have a feeling this offer will be marginally different than the previous ones.
The owners’ plan was always to drag their feet, wait until the last minute, toss the players a few crumbs and fully 100% expect them to take it.
Will it work? Find out soon enough.
A few crumbs? I heard the minimum salary is going up almost $100k. That’s a nice win for the players.
It’s lower relative to revenues than the $500k minimum was when first implemented. It still represents a loss for the players vs the owners.
Bookbook
It’s lower relative to revenues than the $500k minimum was when first implemented. It still represents a loss for the players vs the owners.
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Not at all. If my employer’s revenue increases 20%, and my salary increases 10%, I consider that a huge win.
If its better than the last CBA, it would be a gain by the players.
If the owners are the ones dragging their feet, how do you explain the total games lost due to lockout is zero, the total games lost due to a player’s strike is about 1700.
The players don’t care if games are lost, the owners do. Once games are lost, the players have more leverage, and they know it.
The majority of players today were not even born when that strike occurred.
But, you are using that as evidence that they “don’t care”?
K.
No – the players definitely do care about not getting paid to play games. They have a pool of money, ($180M I believe) but the bulk of players are not Scherzer rich. They actually have to pay bills. They have short careers and a very limited time to earn a living. The owners are almost all billionaires. Missing half a season is immaterial to them.
This is the owners saving face. They are posturing with the “final offer” language which will have everything they know the players will agree to.
Play ball!
If the Mets fail to reach the postseason again after all this hype then they should be banned from the league for 10 years. That will be the final issue in these negotiations.
Sigh…no deal after all.
MLBPA gave up on changing arbitration to more that what it is now, other than a bonus pool for pre-arb players. That was a huge give by the players. But that was not met with a real give by the owners. So my guess is their “best and final offer” will be rejected by the players and we will be back to square 1 tomorrow and likely don’t see games until May at the earliest. I hope I am wrong.
A minimum salary of close to 700,000 is a huge give. No more compensation picks are a huge give. Not having a multi-year luxury tax penalty is a huge give. Putting money in a pre-arbitration pool is a huge give. Limiting the number of times a player can be sent down is a huge give.
Other than allowing two new playoff teams, what have the players giving back? Oh wait… they are willing back down from some of their additional demands. That’s not exactly a give.
Halo has the correct take. The players have scored a big win so they should accept the deal (even if the tax doesn’t go up much).
Just to be clear, I never wrote the players should accept the deal.
I’m just saying that I don’t really respect the take the owners haven’t given anything. They have given a lot. It may not be enough, but the players aren’t giving much.
Actually, both sides are winning. The union gets a substantial raise, and the owners get the expanded playoffs.
I’d bet real money that most of the posters saying that the players have caved, haven’t the foggiest idea of what the increase in total salaries is.
Really, does anyone know what the increase in minimum wage, plus the cap, plus the bonus pool adds up to? Or are you all just assuming a loss for the players, because you have some sort of rooting interest?
A minimum salary of $700k is lower relatively than the $500k was when implemented. At $10k increase per year, it will dramatically lag revenue growth AND inflation every year. It will be extreme by year 5.
The owners have, over multiple CBAs, turned the luxury tax into an effective cap. The current level of the cap is at a much lower percentage of MLB revenues than when it was first implemented. Even the players’ offer wouldn’t correct for this, but the owners’ offer of $220 million, and then pathetic out-year increases, is a joke. The pre-arb pool is indeed a give. At the owners’ level of up to $833k per team, it’s more of a pittance than a “huge” give. Limiting the send downs is a quality of life issue, but one that costs owners exactly nothing.
I don’t think players can accept this “offer.”
700 thousand dollars is fair. Most of the fodder that gets brough up is incredibly replaceable. HOWEVER the players that are brought up that are not fodder, should get paid, so I’d like that pool to be higher.
The Luxury cap should be a speed bump and not a barrier. I don’t see the amount of the luxury tax as the issue, the size of the penalties is the issue.
As there has never been a pool before, I considered that a huge give by the owners, in agreeing to one.
The “Best Deal” could mean the “Best Deal” before games are cancelled.
Obviously if games are cancelled, new deals would be on the table. But is it worth it to anyone to cancel games?
Once we start getting in to cancelled games, the negotiation becomes more complicated. It will def be a set back once they start talking about prorated salaries and what not.
And the more leverage the players have. Which will mean the owners will up their offer.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
If games get cancelled the owners have more leverage without question. They can weather the storm much longer than the average non-star player.
The players have more leverage if games get cancelled.
It’s why lockouts have produced zero games lost while players strikes have produced around 1700 games lost.
And at 5:01 we find out we are not starting the season till May.. this sucks
At 5:01, we hear that negotiations will continue as both sides continue to work on their good faith bargaining positions.
Regardless of whether you come down on the side of the players or the owners, this is a huge self-inflicted wound for baseball. It didn’t need to come to this.
Best and final offer is simply a negotiating tactic that has the same binding affect as yesterday’s deadline. I’m hoping for a settlement before the negotiators go to bed for the night – whenever that is.
“Tone” – taking a passive aggressive “tone” is always helpful. Thankfully the league is making its “best offer” – problem solved.
Players are simply seeing the owners want to make a deal now. So they are saying to themselves why settle? Let’s see how much more we can get. I believe if the players refuse the offer they will eventually end up losing lots of game checks as well as agreeing to a worse deal offered today down the road.
Don’t let all this lockout stuff change the narrative that the following players are unsigned:
Bryant, Correa, Story
It only means that games will be canceled day for day until a deal is reached no matter how long it takes.
“STAY STRONG OWNERS!!!!!! REMIND THE PLAYERS THEY ARE YOUR PROPERTY!!!! THEM WANTING ANYTHING IS GREED!!!! YOU WANTING EVERYTHING IS A OK HUNKY DORY BY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM HERE TO SERVE THEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Idiot, we’re starting back up. This is Dwight by the way.”
Dwight Fry?
I think the players are more than fairly treated. The average salary in MLB is over $4 million per year. If the AVERAGE guy plays all 162 games per year, that is $25,740 PER GAME, or over $2,800 per INNING. Over $900 per Hour. The owners have a right to their share as long as they treat their employees fairly, which they do.
@impapad17
Nonsense. Just brainless nonsense. And well done for capitalising your idiocy.
Any idea of what mean, median, and average actually equate to?
Tumbleweeds…………..
Somebody woke up grumpy. Yes I understand “average”. Total salary paid to all players divided by the number of players. Even if you take the lowest paid player at around $700k per year, that still comes out to over $4,000 per game and $480 per INNING. And… try to be nice instead of lashing out at someone you don’t even know.
@impada17 – Always grumpy at 10 pm in the evening. Apologies for not falling in to your appointed time zone.
The average player has a 2.7 year career. The average player never makes it to free agency.
But you carry on being seduced by the mad Max maths or whatever. You’re simply wrong. Less than 1% of draftees play 500 MLB games It’s your facts against my facts. And if you want to be a pansy to ownership – good luck to you..
I promise to try to be nice and bless you. My apologies for any offence but I can’t for the life of me understand how the Scherzer type deals are confused with the rank and file? I’d guess you can’t explain that either…
Apologies for the time zone error. So how is it the owners fault that players don’t all make it to the show? All I am saying is that even if you remove the “Scherzer type deals”, $700k a year to play a game for 6 months out of the year is pretty good bank. Not to mention the other perks they get, like the highest level health insurance, trainers at their beck and call, meals paid, and more.
Update – mlb’s offer sucks
Disagree. They’ve gone all the way up to a 700K minimum salary which is a large increase. The $30 million pre-arbitration pool is also $30 million more than the players have right now.
The luxury tax concerns from the players side are overblown in my opinion since only a handful of teams are ever near or over the tax threshold. It’s also 1% of the players causing the luxury tax issues. The run of the mill guys aren’t the reason a team is in the luxury tax.
$700K would be massive …if it was paid as soon as a player was added to the 40!
Not as excited as I was 12 hours ago 🙁
Definitely looks like lost games. Would have liked to see MLB at least budge on the CBT thresholds.
The players have been played like a fiddle.
They let the owners control all of the action.
The players had the winning hand, they only had to play it.
The union has once again showed its ineptness.
The owners have not bargained in good faith at any level but the union is too blind to notice..
Oh well, they get what they “bargained for.
What exactly was the winning hand the players had?
“They would have used mind control lasers on the owners to make them negotiate in good faith if they weren’t so inept!!!!”
I really don’t see why the luxury tax thresholds are such a line in the sand. Teams with money will spend it, teams without it will never get close to it. For teams that are already close to that threshold, wouldn’t increasing it actually be beneficial to them? If the Braves are making $600m, lord knows the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and other bigger market clubs are making way more, so why is it a problem to increase it $20m when the only clubs it affects can clearly afford to spend up to that limit? Such a silly thing to risk so much over.
If the Braves are making $600m,
====================================
If I recall correctly, the Braves made $20M, not $600M.
Their gross was a bit under $600M. Net profit $104M: blogs.fangraphs.com/the-braves-made-some-money-in-….
With inflation, in 5 years half the league could be right at the tax level.
The numbers with this story’s 2:45pm update look good. The union should accept and let’s play ball!
Take it or leave it offer? These negotiations have been ugly but this is the icing on the cake. I imagine it will be rejected. The league will blame the players for holding up the start of the season. Stay and negotiate. Both sides owe that to the fans.
The players union must say “yes” to the owners before the CBA deadline ends at 5:00 pm or else we’re screwed and I’m not kidding.
We should have had Scott Borass arbitrate the meetings
They would have really stirred things up
Billionaires fighting with millionaires both sides don’t live in reality world like we do struggles with rent food gas bills owners mad what players are makeing and there the ones who is causing it with free agents bidding wars there self
Grammar and spelling are tough, too. There are enough hard times to go around for lots of folks.
I don’t see it that way. There is $11B or so in the pot. Both sides have the right, and almost an obligation to fight for it. Do you dicker for a car price? Or if you buy a house, do you offer what you think is fair, or what you think is reasonable low?
I don’t know why people are upset that the two sides are arguing about money. Everyone else does the same.
Union is caving. MLB owners are putting lipstick on the pig. Down to saving face.
It is very simple. Below the superstars the average player salary is dropping while the owners profits are rising. The Union’s majority is the average player. The union should not just take the deal. The owners wisely are fighting for the greatest possible profit and have pockets deep enough to absorb loses. Today’s owners are mixture of tycoons with toys and smaller market business men. Do not confuse them with the owners of yester years.
The average player salary is already inflated from the increases over the years… go check out the lifetime earnings of your typical average and below average players… nobody is hurting in the slightest.. and seeing that 57% of revenues on average go to mlb and milb salaries, that’s more than adequate… I don’t care if owners are greedy, they bought and run the teams and look to turn profits.. players are so far from being mistreated or taken advantage of, I’m amazed that rhetoric has worked on so many… knowing how all other huge businesses work, mlb players have zero to complain about
Ma4170. Do you have a time range marking your true claim. Sincerely without the time range the argument is not very convincing. Point in case when I was 18 years old the Min Wage was $2.65. Now it is $7.25. It is very true that is more than a 250% increase. Now it has been that rate since July 2008 when it was raised from $6.55 an hour. I am not advocating any changes to Fed Policy. I am just showing the importance of having a time line to support your claim. Until you do I am not certain about your position.
Wait until the management negotiators announce that if the best and final offer is rejected, every subsequent offer will get progressively worse. Heads might explode on this site. Leverage is here, take it or leave it or we both experience financial pain for some time. This is exactly why Manfred the Cornell ILR & Harvard Law grad was hired by the owners. When it comes to the interests of the owners, nothing matters more than this moment…that is why they selected a labor lawyer as the Commissioner.
I don’t think this offer will move the needle. I’m no longer optimistic the season will begin this month.
This is the first of series of “best offers to come”. Trust me.
See you in 2023. There will be no season in 2022
As Americans we have gotten use to stalemates over minor issues stopping important business. Sadly it this way now in the MLB. I remember who created this lock out to force a conclusive agreement. If you side with the owners or the players this must be remembered. The players have said they would play and keep negotiating. In response the owners said no they wanted an agreement before opening the season. The stances regarding this have not changed.
They can’t play without an agreement. Last time they did that the players struck and wiped out the season. You really do need a CBA.
If the players association was in the stronger bargaining position, when Manfred said the first 2 series are cancelled, then the union rep would have said that starting later our vets need more prep time, MAKE IT 4 SERIES! But they are crying foul, that the series don’t need to be cancelled yet. Can’t people see? Players should settle now or risk losing more.
A very Simplified explanation for a Collective Bargaining Agreement:
From the Union’s standpoint, they DO want a minimum salary with increases and DO NOT want a maximum.
The Team Owners DO want to control payroll and DO NOT want a Strike once the season begins.
For the CBA, at the Bottom end, they negotiate starting pay and methods to have increases with time and performance.
At the Top end, because the game does require competitiveness between very different market teams, there is a “brake” but not a “limit” on the amount that “rich” teams can spend plus there is revenue sharing, theoretically so “poor” teams can spend enough to compete.
The Bottom is mostly agreed to or possibly could be compromised because this is “small” millions.
The Top is way up there, in the stratosphere, and is all but impossible to agree because the Goals are different.
The Union wants more spending by everyone but knows it will mostly come from the rich teams.
The Owners haven’t found an acceptable way to stop Rich teams from tilting the odds in their favor. More revenue sharing? The Union is against that, too.