![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nBaseball owners and players started the current luxury tax system for the 2003 season and in subsequent agreements have increased tax rates while adding surcharges.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have tried mightily over several rounds of bargaining to use a competitive balance tax to address competitive concerns and sometimes you got to admit you failed,\u201d Manfred said.<\/p>\n
More teams have been willing to exceed tax thresholds in recent years, with a record nine teams paying the penalty in both 2024 and 2025, when the Dodgers were hit with a $169.4 million bill. Total tax rose from $78.5 million in 2022 to $222.8 million the following year, $311.3 million in 2024 and $402.6 million last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never thought about the CBT as a revenue-generating device,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cAnd when you see more and more tax getting paid, you realize that it is not the kind of speed bump that would help on the issue of competitive balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baseball\u2019s five-year collective bargaining agreement, agreed to in March 2022 after a 99-day lockout, expires on Dec. 1. Management is expected to impose a lockout, which would bring free-agent signings and trades to a halt.<\/p>\n
Manfred wouldn\u2019t publicly say whether management thought a stoppage would be worth the cost to obtain a cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to speculate about work stoppages,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that the proposal we\u2019ve made is grounds for constructive dialogue and back and forth with the MLBPA about how we can address the number one concern of our fans and that is a lack of competitive balance in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
MLB would limit spending in 2027 to $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing some teams to spend more. The Dodgers had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year while the lowest payroll was Miami at $81.8 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are smart people,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cI think they understand that payroll is a significant advantage for certain clubs and that high-payroll clubs win more than low-payroll clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
No small-market team has won the World Series since the 2015 Kansas City Royals.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeams that go through periods, particularly longer periods, of non-competitiveness not only have lower revenues, but they are slower to recover once they become competitive,\u201d Manfred said.<\/p>\n
MLB proposed a 50-50 split with players of defined revenue and an escrow system in which portions of salaries would be withheld for payback to the league in the event the players\u2019 share in a year is above 50%.<\/p>\n
Players asked for<\/a> expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum and increasing revenue sharing.<\/p>\n Baseball has had nine work stoppages since 1972, the last the 99-day lockout<\/a> that slightly delayed the 2022 season.<\/p>\n The NFL has had a cap since 1994, the NBA since 1984-85 and the NHL since 2005-06.<\/p>\n Expansion<\/p>\n MLB won\u2019t consider the possible addition of two teams until there is a new CBA. Among those expressing interest have been groups from Charlotte, North Carolina; Montreal; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made clear to all of the cities that have expressed an interest to say a post-labor topic,\u201d Manfred said.<\/p>\n Olympics<\/p>\n Manfred hopes the union will agree to a decision on whether major leaguers will go to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics<\/a> earlier than reaching a labor deal.<\/p>\n \u201dIt is my impression that they\u2019re thinking about on a separate track,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope that\u2019s the case because we can\u2019t wait until we have a collective bargaining agreement to make a commitment on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n Union head Bruce Meyer says a work stoppage that cancels regular-season games could disrupt Olympic plans.<\/a><\/p>\n Local broadcast media<\/p>\n MLB\u2019s proposal would pool and evenly distribute local broadcast revenue, tied to agreement to a salary cap. MLB plans to negotiate new national broadcast contracts for the 2029 season.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly there are going to be more national games. It\u2019s our number one priority in terms of reach going forward,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cHow the inventory after those national games is monetized is going to depend on the market.\u201d<\/p>\n With the decline of regional sports networks, MLB is producing and distributing local broadcasts of 14 teams this season. Local media revenue is \u201cdown significantly,\u201d according to Manfred.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly the form of revenue sharing in the proposal was influenced by developments in the media market and where we think we need to be in order to extract the maximum revenue from the media environment as it exists today,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cYou need more control over rights.\u201d<\/p>\n Padres sale<\/p>\n Owners have yet to approve the proposed sale of the San Diego Padres from the Seidler family to an investor group led by Kwanza Jones and Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano. The deal was announced on May 2.<\/a> The sale has an enterprise value of a baseball-record $3.9 billion, with some investors remaining in the ownership group.<\/p>\n \u201cNot ready for a vote today,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cIt will probably be at some point this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Rays ballpark<\/p>\n Manfred is pleased with the Rays\u2019 efforts to gain government approvals for a new ballpark in Tampa,<\/a> near the spring training stadium of the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to get to definitive documents. My understanding is they\u2019re on a mid-July-ish timeline on that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful they get over the next hurdle.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n