As the month of May dwindles down, Major League Baseball and the Players Association reportedly remain far apart on an economic plan for a potential 2020 regular season.
In March, the two sides reached an agreement that guaranteed players a prorated salary based on the number of games played this season. However, team owners have since backed away from that understanding, claiming it was only contingent on fans being able to attend games.
Facing a soft deadline of early June, the league and union are in constant communication to see if a compromise can be made.
In their first offer to the union, MLB is proposing that players receive prorated salaries this season, but with an additional reduction based on a sliding scale, via ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers:
The formula the league offered, for example, would take a player scheduled to make the league minimum ($563,500), give him a prorated number based on 82 games ($285,228) and take a 10% cut from that figure, leaving him with a $256,706 salary. The scale goes down as salaries go up, with every dollar:
$563,501 to $1 million paid at 72.5%
$1,000,001 to $5 million paid at 50%
$5,000,001 to $10 million paid at 40%
$10,000,001 to $20 million paid at 30%
$20,000,001 and up paid at 20%
MLB’s initial offer was structured so that the game’s highest-paid players receive the biggest cut in salary. To no surprise, the pitch didn’t sit well with the union, and now they are in the midst of preparing a counterproposal.
The Players Association is expected to ask MLB to expand on its proposed 82-game schedule, in addition to holding firm that players earn prorated salaries without taking any extra reductions.
While most players have indicated they won’t ease this request, others are privately discussing the possibility of deferring a portion of their salary this season.
However, team owners are said to be against this idea, believing it will only lead to more financial problems down the road.
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