Major League Baseball made its latest collective bargaining agreement (CBA) proposal to the Players Association (MLBPA) on Thursday, and it includes major changes to contracts and free agency to follow an NBA-style format.
Among their proposed changes, MLB is looking to propose a maximum of five-year contracts to free agents and six-year deals to players who are re-signing, along with eliminating deferred contracts and the qualifying offer, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
With that, the league would also limit the max pay of contracts to $202 million for free agents and $265 for players re-signing, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
The longest possible deal a player could be signed would be 12 years at $500 million, but that would require an extension during their first MLB season, given their six years of team control plus a six-year extension. That means players with fewer than six years of service time are the only ones eligible to be signed for longer than six years.
BREAKING: In its next CBA, the league is proposing a max contract length of 5 yrs for free agent players switching teams, 6 years to retain their own players. No deferred contracts. Qualifying offer is gone too. Also, 5 years to free agency for players 30 or older.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 25, 2026
MLB is also proposing to limit the length and pay of individual contracts. For contracts starting in 2027:
• The longest contract a free agent could sign with a new team is 5 years, with a max total projected value of the contract of $202 million.
• The longest contract a…
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) June 25, 2026
In exchange for their asks, MLB proposed increasing the minimum salary to $1 milliom for players with at least two years of service time, and $900,000 with the potential to make another $100,000 for players with less than two years of service time.
In addition, players who are 30 years or older would also reach free agency in five years instead of six under MLB’s proposal. This is designed to help the late bloomers reach free agency sooner.
MLB’s proposal to eliminate the qualifying offer would also benefit players and comes as one of their concessions.
However, all of this falls under MLB’s push for a salary cap, which the players have said is a non-starter in negotiations.
The league is also not offering nearly enough back to the players to even consider any of the proposals made. Capping contracts to the extent the league wants far outweighs any of the benefits they gave players.
Both sides remain far apart in negotiations, and it seems more likely by the day that a lockout and messy labor negotiations will happen once the current CBA expires in December.
Miguel Rojas annoyed by Dodgers being targeted in CBA talks
The Los Angeles Dodgers have become the poster child for Major League Baseball’s salary cap push in collective bargaining negotiations with the MLBPA.
The league has cited the organization on several occasions to refute the union’s pitch for a “competitive integrity tax” that would penalize teams that don’t spend at least $150 million on payroll.
Several Dodgers players are aware of what has been happening behind the scenes, and Miguel Rojas was among those to express his frustration.
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