MLB Proposes 5-Year Cap on Free Agent Contracts; Players Union Rejects Proposal

Major League Baseball (MLB) has proposed to the players' union a plan that would limit most free agent (FA) contracts to a maximum of five years and cap total salary spending within 15 percent of the salary cap.

The proposal also includes a provision to ban "deferred contracts," which allow salary payments to be delayed until after the contract period ends.

As this proposal is considered difficult for the players' union to accept, the standoff between the two sides is expected to continue.

According to foreign media reports, including the Associated Press, on Friday (June 26), the MLB office presented this proposal during collective bargaining negotiations held at the players' union office in New York.

If this plan had been in effect, the 15-year, $765 million contract that Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets last year would not have been possible.

Furthermore, the contract structure used by the Los Angeles Dodgers, which involves deferring $1.1 billion in salary for 10 players, including Shohei Ohtani, from 2028 to 2047, would also be prohibited.

In response, the MLB office explained, "As of this year, only seven players exceed the proposed cap, and 98 percent of FA contracts would not be affected."

Instead, the league stated it would accept the union's demands to shorten the FA eligibility period for players aged 30 and older from six years to five, and to abolish the qualifying offer system.

The league also offered "carrots," including an increase in the minimum salary for players with two or more years of service from the current $780,000 to $1 million.

The players' union strongly opposed the proposal.

Bruce Meyer, the union's deputy executive director, said in an online press conference, "There is no question that the gap between the two sides is very large," adding, "The league's proposal is so clearly bad for players at all levels that it has actually helped our unity."

Meyer further emphasized, "MLB players have never caved, and that is why we are the only one (among the four major North American professional sports leagues) without a salary cap."

Prominent agent Scott Boras also criticized the move, stating, "It's like telling someone to live in a house with a 4-foot ceiling and offering them a few pieces of furniture," and added, "It is an attempt to roll back the value of player contracts to the 1990s."

On the other hand, MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin countered, "The reform fans want most is to address the salary gap," adding, "This is a problem that all professional sports have solved, and a salary cap creates a level playing field."

The core of the salary cap proposal presented by the MLB office last month is to set the team spending limit at $245.3 million and the floor at $171.2 million for next year.

The Dodgers' opening day payroll this year was $415.2 million, which exceeds the proposed cap by approximately $170 million.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1. If the MLB office fails to reach an agreement with the players' union, it is expected that the league will implement a lockout, halting FA signings and trades.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.