When discussing the Skubal extension and it’s timing one important thing to remember is the CBA expiring after the 2026 season. Many are predicting a lockout by the owners. Remember who Skubal’s agent is, Hello Mr Boras.
The current CBA ends Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m., 2026. Two more seasons will be played under the agreed-upon terms.
# The big question looming over MLB: Will owners take up the fight for a salary cap?
Also this one, which talks about deferred money, Dodgers currently have a 1billion in deferred dollars.
Full articles at links.
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MLB is in a unique spot. The league is more economically healthy than ever before, yet under the surface, an economic bubble is waiting to burst.
player agent Scott Boras was asked if he expected calls for a cap to arrive again.
“There is every five years,” he said, a reference to the length of each collective bargaining agreement. “What’s new?”
Owners are indeed considering a cap proposal, according to people briefed on their conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. But it would also be surprising if they weren’t. More notable is that, for a few reasons, owners could be energized to pursue a cap in a way they have not for a generation.
The future of local television rights is a key motivation.
It’s evergreen to say baseball owners want a cap for its potential cost savings, and to make baseball operate as other major U.S. sports leagues do. The NBA, NFL and NHL all have caps and floors.
Smaller-market teams and their fans have also always complained about the exploits of bigger-market teams, and they’re not lacking fodder this offseason. Soto’s most serious suitors were limited to the sport’s biggest markets.
The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, are carrying a projected $335 million payroll per Cot’s Contracts, the highest in the sport, and have deferred more than $1 billion in salary to later seasons.
But well before this winter, it seemed MLB could newly push for a cap. Shortly after the last CBA negotiations, Manfred created an “economic reform committee,” a group of six owners dedicated to reviewing two issues: the future of local television, and club revenue disparities.
By the end of 2025, likely about two-thirds of the league will have taken a pay cut in rights fees at some point in the last three seasons. In response, Manfred wants to radically change how teams share their revenues, pooling all the local TV money together while reducing or eliminating what teams share from other streams.
The worst-case scenario for the MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred is missing games. Owners would lose revenue, players would not get paid, and fans would be robbed of watching players represent the best baseball league in the world on a nightly basis.
MLB has found a winning formula in recent years. The introduction of a pitch clock in 2022 has increased attendance and interest in the game by speeding up pace of play. Adding a universal designated hitter in 2023 boosted offensive output. In 2023, MLB revenue was approximately $11.6 billion, and that number was higher in 2024, according to Manfred.
“I do think that there are a lot of positives going on in the game right now,” Manfred said during his interview with Questions for Cancer Research. “I think our attendance is very strong, and that’s always a great thing for us. It shows that the game is popular. And I think that the positive things that are going on always motivates the parties to find a solution to the economic issues that face the game.”
