With the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) set to expire on Dec. 1, representatives from Major League Baseball and the Players Association (MLBPA) are expected to begin formal negotiations this spring.
One of the biggest issues dividing the sport is the potential implementation of a salary cap. The league believes one is necessary to improve competitive balance while the players remain strongly against a salary cap as it would limit their earnings.
Another key topic that figures to be discussed is regional blackouts, which essentially requires fans to pay for a regional sports network in order to watch their local team’s games live.
Unsurprisingly, Manfred highlighted competitive balance and blackouts as two areas he wants to address in the next round of CBA talks, via Evan Drellich of The Athletic:
“When you have momentum like we have that you’ve worked as hard as we have to get, you know that is a force that puts people in a frame of mind that they should understand they need to make an agreement, OK?” Manfred said on the radio. “Despite that momentum, we have a couple of issues that we hear about from our fans all the time: blackouts and the perception that some teams are not competitive.
“We got to address those issues. How we figure out the way to address those issues is the challenge of the bargaining process, and jumping to the idea that it’s going to be salary cap, no salary cap is a premature thing to do. To maintain the momentum we all understand we have, I think we need to address those two issues and I think we’ll figure out a way to do it.”
MLB believes it can address competitive balance concerns by implementing a salary cap and floor, similar to other professional sports leagues. A floor in theory would force smaller market teams to spend more money to improve their rosters, while a cap would prevent big market teams from significantly outspending others.
As for regional blackouts, it is clear that the league needs to find a solution. Several teams have lost income due to the decline of regional sports networks falling apart, which is a byproduct of more fans cutting cable in favor of streaming services.
No matter what happens in the upcoming CBA talks, Manfred said it is his top priority to ensure the league doesn’t lose any games in 2027 if a work stoppage occurs.
MLB discussing shortening schedule & adding in-season tournament
Manfred has continued to search for ways to improve the game and has floated the idea of shortening the 162-game regular season schedule on several occasions.
That remains a possibility along with adding an in-season tournament that would bring in more revenue.
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