CBA proposals
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the contract between the 30 owners and the players' union, expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, 2026. What each side has proposed so far, by topic, with the source and date of each. Latest proposal: Oct 8, 2026.
Most of the owners' proposals after May depend on the union accepting a cap and floor. Reports on some union proposals are thinner than the league's own summaries of its offers. MLB.com is owned by the league; we note it where we cite it.
Side by side
Length of deal
No proposal reported.
Top of the payroll scale
Hard salary cap
$245.3M
No club could go over it.
Measured on CBT payroll, including benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. CBS Sports estimates about $222M on a cash basis. No phase-in schedule yet.
AP via WTTW, May 28, 2026
No cap; raise the luxury tax line
$300M
Keep the luxury tax, where clubs pay a tax on payroll above a line, and raise the line.
Up from $244M in 2026, rising to $360M by 2031.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Bottom of the payroll scale
Hard payroll floor
$171.2M
Every club would have to spend at least this much on payroll.
Measured the same way as the cap. CBS Sports estimates about $148M on a cash basis.
AP via WTTW, May 28, 2026
Competitive integrity tax
$150M
A tax on clubs that spend less than a set amount on payroll, a soft floor instead of a hard one.
Reported as where the tax "would start." Reports don't say whether $150M is the payroll level or the tax amount, or what the rate is.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Players' share of revenue
50-50 revenue split
Players would get 50% of baseball revenue and 50% of any growth in media revenue. An independent accountant hired by both sides would verify the numbers. Existing guaranteed contracts stay guaranteed. The plan includes an escrow system, which holds back part of player pay until revenue is counted, as the NBA and NHL do.
AP via WTTW, May 28, 2026
Rejects a fixed revenue split
Says the owners' plan would cut the players' share and cost them over $500M, and calls a cap "institutionalized collusion."
CBS Sports, Jun 1, 2026
Revenue sharing
Pool local media money
All local TV and streaming revenue would be pooled and split equally among the 30 clubs, replacing today's revenue sharing plan. The commissioner could add more sharing so lower-revenue clubs can reach the floor.
MLB.com (league-owned), May 28, 2026
Revenue floor for small markets
Guarantee every small-market club at least $240M in revenue a season, to be spent on the team on the field.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Minimum salary
Minimum salary
$1M
Up 28% from $780,000 for players with two or more years of service. Players with less get $900,000 plus an automatic $100,000 bonus for a full season. Future minimums would rise with the cap and floor.
For players with two or more years of service.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
Minimum salary
$1.5M
Nearly double the minimum, up from $780,000.
Starting in 2027.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Pay for the newest players
Bigger pre-arbitration bonus pool
From $50M to $65M in 2027 and $75M by the end of the deal. The pool pays bonuses to players too new to go to salary arbitration.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
No proposal reported.
Free agency
Free agency a year sooner for players 30 and older
Five years of service instead of six, starting after the 2027 season. A club could keep a five-year player one more year by paying the average of the 125 highest salaries ($22.025M in 2026). Matches the union's ask, but only with a cap.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
Free agency a year sooner for players 30 and older
Five years of service instead of six.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Contract limits
Limits on contract length and size
Signing another club's free agent: up to five years, with a first-year salary up to 15% of the cap ($202M total for a 2027 deal). Re-signing your own: up to six years and 16% ($265M). Raises up to 5% a year. No new deferred money.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
No proposal reported.
Qualifying offer
End the qualifying offer
Drops the one-year offer a club makes to its departing free agent to earn a draft pick if he signs elsewhere. Matches the union's ask.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
Salary arbitration
Keep salary arbitration as is
Open to changes that would raise pay for arbitration-eligible players.
MLB.com (league-owned), Jun 25, 2026
Service time and tanking
No proposal reported.
Curb service-time games and tanking
Expanded rules against holding players down to delay free agency, and against openly tanking.
theScore, citing The Athletic, May 27, 2026
Draft
Shorter draft, international draft
Cut the draft from 20 rounds to 12 with a $200M hard bonus system. Bar high school players; college players eligible at 20. Add an international draft with a $200M bonus cap.
CBS Sports, Jun 18, 2026
Keep the draft as is, with bigger pools
Keep 20 rounds and high school eligibility; add college sophomores. Raise bonus pools, with automatic increases for lower-revenue playoff teams. No hard slot bonuses. Allow draft pick trades. Move the draft back to June.
CBS Sports, Jul 21, 2026
Rosters
Weekly rosters, shorter injured lists
Rosters set each Monday. 14 pitchers allowed instead of 13. Injured list cut to one week for position players and two weeks for pitchers, and a 12-week list replaces the 60-day list. Minor league options cut from five to four. Rule 5 eligibility a year sooner. Two quiet periods in December that limit free-agent signings. Only with a cap.
CBS Sports, Aug 27, 2026
Bigger early-season rosters, fewer options
28-man rosters, with up to 14 pitchers, for the first 15 days. Minor league options cut from five to three. Rule 5 eligibility sooner, with a Rule 5 Draft every year. Protections for pitchers sent down around the All-Star break. Player access to club performance data and video.
CBS Sports, Jul 1, 2026
Schedule and playoffs
154-game season
Down from 162, with a standard weekly off day. Best-of-seven Division Series. Higher seeds pick their Wild Card and Division Series opponents. Only with a cap.
CBS Sports, Oct 8, 2026
No proposal reported.
Other
No proposal reported.
Prop bets and sportsbook deals
Ban prop bets on individual players, and let players take paid endorsements from sportsbooks and prediction markets. Proposed in June; the exact date wasn't reported.
CBS Sports, Oct 8, 2026
All figures are reported. Proposed lines apply from 2027.
- Tax payroll
- The payroll the luxury tax uses: each contract's average annual value plus benefits, for the 40-man roster.
- Luxury tax
- Formally the competitive balance tax. Clubs pay a tax on tax payroll above a line, $244M in 2026.
- Escrow
- Part of player pay held back during the season, then released or kept so the final total matches the agreed share of revenue.
- Salary arbitration
- Players with roughly three to six years of service whose club and agent can't agree on a salary go to a hearing. Players with less are "pre-arbitration."
- Qualifying offer
- A one-year offer a club makes to its departing free agent. If he declines and signs elsewhere, the club gets a draft pick.
- Minor league options
- How many seasons a club can send a player on its 40-man roster to the minors without exposing him to other clubs.
- Rule 5
- A draft each December where clubs can take minor leaguers that other clubs haven't protected on their 40-man roster.
Against 2025 payrolls
If each side's 2027 lines had applied to 2025 tax payrolls:
- 12 clubs were under the owners' $171.2M floor, a combined $553.9M short.
- 8 were over the owners' $245.3M cap, a combined $486.8M over.
- 11 were under the union's $150M floor tax.
- 4 were over the union's $300M tax line.
MLB's own count, using projections it didn't publish, is 12 clubs needing $617M more to reach the floor and 8 needing to cut $578M to get under the cap (MLB.com, May 28, 2026).
Clay: owners' proposal. Dashed blue: union's proposal. Slate: today's rules.
| Club | Tax payroll, 2025 | Union floor tax, $150M | Owners' floor, $171.2M | Owners' cap, $245.3M | Union tax line, $300M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | $417.3M | +$267.3M | +$246.1M | +$172M | +$117.3M |
| New York Mets | $346.7M | +$196.7M | +$175.5M | +$101.4M | +$46.7M |
| New York Yankees | $319.5M | +$169.5M | +$148.3M | +$74.2M | +$19.5M |
| Philadelphia Phillies | $314.3M | +$164.3M | +$143.1M | +$69M | +$14.3M |
| Toronto Blue Jays | $286.1M | +$136.1M | +$114.9M | +$40.8M | −$13.9M |
| San Diego Padres | $270.4M | +$120.4M | +$99.2M | +$25.1M | −$29.6M |
| Boston Red Sox | $248.9M | +$98.9M | +$77.7M | +$3.6M | −$51.1M |
| Houston Astros | $246M | +$96M | +$74.8M | +$691K | −$54M |
| Texas Rangers | $241.4M | +$91.4M | +$70.2M | −$3.9M | −$58.6M |
| Atlanta Braves | $234.8M | +$84.8M | +$63.6M | −$10.5M | −$65.2M |
| Chicago Cubs | $231.1M | +$81.1M | +$59.9M | −$14.2M | −$68.9M |
| San Francisco Giants | $225.4M | +$75.4M | +$54.2M | −$19.9M | −$74.6M |
| Los Angeles Angels | $221.4M | +$71.4M | +$50.2M | −$23.9M | −$78.6M |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | $216.1M | +$66.1M | +$44.9M | −$29.2M | −$83.9M |
| Seattle Mariners | $194.5M | +$44.5M | +$23.3M | −$50.8M | −$105.5M |
| Detroit Tigers | $188.2M | +$38.2M | +$17M | −$57.1M | −$111.8M |
| Kansas City Royals | $181M | +$31M | +$9.8M | −$64.3M | −$119M |
| Baltimore Orioles | $179.3M | +$29.3M | +$8.1M | −$66M | −$120.7M |
| St. Louis Cardinals | $153.5M | +$3.5M | −$17.7M | −$91.8M | −$146.5M |
| Colorado Rockies | $146.7M | −$3.3M | −$24.5M | −$98.6M | −$153.3M |
| Cincinnati Reds | $144.3M | −$5.7M | −$26.9M | −$101M | −$155.7M |
| Milwaukee Brewers | $143.5M | −$6.5M | −$27.7M | −$101.8M | −$156.5M |
| Minnesota Twins | $141.7M | −$8.3M | −$29.5M | −$103.6M | −$158.3M |
| Washington Nationals | $133.7M | −$16.3M | −$37.5M | −$111.6M | −$166.3M |
| Cleveland Guardians | $128.2M | −$21.8M | −$43M | −$117.1M | −$171.8M |
| Athletics | $118.1M | −$31.9M | −$53.1M | −$127.2M | −$181.9M |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | $108.6M | −$41.4M | −$62.6M | −$136.7M | −$191.4M |
| Tampa Bay Rays | $103.4M | −$46.6M | −$67.8M | −$141.9M | −$196.6M |
| Chicago White Sox | $91.8M | −$58.2M | −$79.4M | −$153.5M | −$208.2M |
| Miami Marlins | $86.9M | −$63.1M | −$84.3M | −$158.4M | −$213.1M |
Tax payrolls and the proposed lines are reported; the differences are our arithmetic. Plus means over the line, minus means under. The lines are for 2027 and the payrolls are from 2025, so this shows where clubs stood, not where they'll land. The union's $150M figure is reported as where its tax "would start"; reports don't say exactly how it's measured. Payroll sources: AP via Post Register.
Payroll is part of the bill
A cap or floor governs payroll only. In 2025, payroll was 37.4% of what the Braves, the one club that publishes its books, spent on baseball. The other 62.6% went to minor leagues, scouting, staff, the ballpark, revenue sharing and overhead. The full breakdown
Simulator
A simulator that applies each proposal to every club's payroll is in progress. How it will work