Union Executive Tony Clark Suggests MLB Salary Cap Is Non-Negotiable

Speculation over a potential MLB salary being implemented has already picked up in full earnest despite the possibility not coming until a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is needed after the 2026 season.

In many ways, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spending in free agency over the past two offseasons has fueled the calls for MLB incorporating a salary cap. MLB is the only major North American professional sports league without a salary cap or floor.

While that may a stance team owners take, MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark has continued to suggest the union won’t be receptive to any salary cap, per Barry Bloom of Sportico

The key issue is again a hard salary cap. But Clark had this message to MLB labor negotiators: “No. We haven’t agreed to that in 50, 60 years.”

In some regards, MLB has a salary cap in place with to the tiered penalties for exceeding the luxury tax threshold in a given year, and how the compound for teams that go past the competitive balance threshold for multiple seasons in a row.

Though, it is worth nothing that in MLB compared other sports, simply outspending other teams does not guarantee a championship. Over the last 25 years, the team with the largest payroll in baseball has won the World Series just four times.

Rob Manfred open to MLB salary cap alternatives

Although indications are team owners will include a salary cap in their CBA negotiations with the union, commissioner Rob Manfred recently said he is not fully sold on that system being necessary.

Manfred has also pushed back against the notion that the Dodgers are ruining baseball with the spending frenzy they have been on. But in that same light Manfred acknowledged he’s heard high levels of concern from several fanbases about their teams’ ability to compete.