spotrac.com<\/a>, there are six teams operating above that cap \u2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets boasting payrolls over $300 million. Meanwhile, there are 15 teams (including the Mariners) operating under that floor \u2014 with six paying less than $100 million.<\/p>\nEven so, the MLB Players Association was not impressed with the proposal. At this point, it seems like it\u2019s either no cap or no deal. But to the casual observer, this looks like a plan that would inject more money into the league while increasing competitive balance. And when the court of public opinion is so influential in how negotiations play out, looks are everything.<\/p>\n
Last November\u2019s World Series Game 7 is in the conversation for greatest baseball game of all-time. The Dodgers used a ninth-inning home run to tie the Toronto Blue Jays, a 10th-inning home run to go ahead, and made a series of late-game defensive gems to secure their second consecutive title. But as euphoric as this was for Tinseltown, it reinforced the idea that teams can buy championships. This was to MLB owners what the Fail Mary was to NFL refs \u2014 a platinum bargaining chip.<\/p>\n
So here comes a plan that could eliminate super teams while forcing other organizations to pony up cash. If you\u2019re a Mariners fan, this has to look appetizing, right?<\/p>\n
For one, their concern about rivals forever pulling away due to payroll would at least diminish. Second, fans would have less worry about the Mariners\u2019 notorious underspending habits (even if they have been paying more lately).<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t mean team chairman John Stanton, among others, shouldn\u2019t still face pressure. The difference between $171 million and $245 million is substantial, and franchises that push the cap\u2019s edges would be better set up to win. It also doesn\u2019t mean that every team would avoid penalties for failing to hit the floor. It\u2019s one thing to be a billionaire on paper. It\u2019s another to have access to enough cash to increase payroll by 50, 60, or in some cases more than 100%.<\/p>\n
But those are concerns that can be addressed later. For now, it\u2019s about framing.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s no surprise that the union doesn\u2019t like it \u2014 and it isn\u2019t wrong for that. Negotiations are all about getting what you think you\u2019re worth, and this is a player\u2019s league. Via a report Monday from The Athletic, interim MLBPA head Bruce Meyer said an analysis showed that players would lose money on such a proposal \u2014 and that they\u2019re already taking in more than 50% of the revenue split. He added that it would eradicate amateur signing bonuses and pretty much dismissed the plan entirely. Not surprising. This is Early Bargaining 101.<\/p>\n
There is also the matter of service-time restrictions. Theoretically, this salary cap\/high-floor idea would pay the Shohei Ohtanis and Aaron Judges of the world less while putting more money in the pockets of the rank-and-file players. But if those players aren\u2019t eligible for a big payday for six years, is it really looking out for them? Getting those guys\u2019 salaries reflective of their value earlier in their careers would almost certainly be a stipulation if the MLBPA would ever agree to a cap.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s impossible to know how this will all play out. And to be fair, teams have shown they can contend with a limited budget. The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the American League despite being 24th in MLB in payroll. The Milwaukee Brewers had the best record in MLB last year despite being 17th in payroll. Oh, and the Mets are 27-35 despite their $334 million payroll. It takes more than money.<\/p>\n
All that said, this fight is going to get nasty. And whoever appears greedier is likely to lose.<\/p>\n
On the surface \u2014 especially to fans of teams such as the Mariners \u2014 the owners look like the good guys. Might not be true, but in this case, perception trumps reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seattle Mariners fans cheer after a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[127913,64,63,4034,591,16309,85],"class_list":["post-724565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-alcs","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-playoffs","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BVJRCZTDKNHDNDMXQUYBUCF74E.jpg\")
Seattle Mariners fans cheer after a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Toronto. (Jennifer Buchanan\/The Seattle Times\/TNS) <\/p>\n