I question those estimates. Does that also take into account the TV money revenue that is also required to be shared? With those teams drawing very view fans, having relatively low TV money revenue, and having no penalties for low spending, there has to be some viable source of consistent revenue (other than franchise values going up every year) to make it make sense. I also generally don't trust anything coming out of the small market owners complaint box. For years the mantra was "we just need a new stadium to compete"... then all these teams did get tax-funded stadiums, and it was still business as usual (or worse).
"No matter what it takes" is very concerning since players are saying the same exact thing about stopping a salary cap from happening. Fortunately. I think the owners are more divided and the ones who need the salary cap the most are also the ones who get hurt the most financially by losing games. But this is not any breaking news. I see the lockout stretching somewhere from late May until early July and then have a 75-80 game season.
If they have a salary cap, are the Dodgers forced to trade away players to get under the cap? Or are they exempt because they made this payroll before the potential cap? Maybe will be forced to trim a certain amount each year and have a certain year where they need to be under?
I don't see a scenario where any team is forced to trade or void deals already on the books. It's all based on negotiated agreement but the most likely scenario is certain designated contracts are grandfathered in. Furthermore there will likely be some concession where teams over the cap due to long-term deals are still able to continue to spend some to fill roster holes due to loss of players due to retirement, injury, or Freee agency. It will probably be 5-10 years before some contracts that are grandfathered are off of the books.
Baseball viewership is finally trending in the right direction after the game speed rule changes a couple of years ago, and now it seems that momentum is going to get decimated by a lockout and/or lack of parity
8 is the magic number If 8 owners agree on something and they are resolute, they can block any issue on the owner half of the CBA negotiation. When owners vote on an issue it takes 23 "yes" votes to pass an agreement and send it to the players.
Would never happen. In the NFL, the Players Association has the least power. MLBPA has most power for any of the major sports leagues.
This issue with making it a hard line in the sand is the Players are not looking at the whole picture. Not having a salary cap doesn't help most players just a few of the biggest FA's every year. Just because a player will be a FA doesn't mean they will net the benefits of that system. Just should basically ask for everything else they could possible want in return for a salary cap, and they would probably get all of it.
The deferred $ on Ohtani`s contract should not be allowed. I am afraid I agree with the Owners that some type of Salary Cap needs to be implemented. you shouldn't be able to BUY yourself a title and at the same time you want teams like the Royals, A`s, White Sox to spend which is why I prefer some type of Min/Max each team has to abide by...............the luxury tax is not working, to these guys it's like a slap on the wrist to a hedge fund Billionaire I side with this theory because someone has to pay the salaries and a big chunk of that is from the fans and I am just about priced out to go to a game; I used to go to 10-15 games a year when they opened Enron and now, I go to maybe 3. I like to have the fan experience, so I want a few hot dogs and a few beers and peanuts.................now those beers are $15 Just my .02
I don't think this is correct. I don't think a lockout will cause any of the owners to go broke such that lost revenue is the big issue. The Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Mets each lose a $100M very quickly because they have tons of fixed costs that don't mean much versus their revenue when games are played. Short term, sure the smaller markets will have to have owners backstop them as the teams don't have cash reserves, but long term, that money will be made up quickly, while it will take the big markets longer to get back to where they were pre-lockout. The lost profits matter a bunch more for the big markets as they are making a ton more than the small markets.
I understand your opinion but this is the thinking that will cause MLB to lose games, maybe even an entire season, and fans. The game might not even survive it. The players a dead set against a cap. You can accomplish the same thing by: Limiting deferred money and/or not allowing it to count less in AAV. Increase penalties to those above the CBT Increase the % of CBT fines that get paid to teams who do not go over. This requires a min to qualify and rules to use funds on payroll. Theoretically this reduces the gap between high and low paying teams.
The deferred money has no impact on anything. It's a $44MM/yr contract in real value and the Dodgers are required to pay that into escrow each year. The only impact deferrals has is it allows Ohtani to say he's making more money than he is. Luxury cap, cash costs, etc - the Dodgers get no benefit whatsoever.
This is a really good comprehensive article on this topic: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...geles-dodgers-free-agency-labor-cba-offseason Of note about the owners, the salary cap's big benefit is on franchise valuations, where apparently MLB is doing poorly compared to the other sports. Increasing franchise valuations is a topic all owners can unite around. Owners are angry, too. Their franchise valuations aren't growing as quickly as their billionaire peers' in other sports, and they blame the system that governs Major League Baseball. They don't like it. Nearly every owner believes MLB needs a salary cap. Its presence, owners say, immediately would juice franchise values, with the labor cost essentially fixed and no more chasing Dodgers teams spending $500 million annually on players. At the same time, they say, it would provide a pathway to competitive balance, which they believe is entirely out of whack. They think a salary cap will fix everything, even if it means jeopardizing the 2027 season. "They are ready to burn the f---ing house down," one high-ranking team official said.
The game will survive. Maybe salaries will drop. Maybe it will lose some fans. Maybe a whole season will be missed. Ultimately, the game will go on. In a few years, labor issues will be forgotten.
