As New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has spent freely to upgrade his team this offseason, paying millions of dollars in luxury tax penalties in the process, there have been some rumblings about the MLB potentially having a salary cap. Well, don’t expect the players to agree to that anytime soon. It’s also not just Cohen, though, but the majority of the league’s owners aren’t spending money like the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres or Phillies do.
During a conversation about Major League Baseball’s new Economic Reform Committee on Saturday, MLB Players Association Executive Director, Tony Clark, made some pretty clear remarks about the future of the sport. According to MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN, Clark said that he believes it’s the league’s goal to eventually have a salary cap.
“We’re never going to agree to a cap,” Clark said. “Let me start there. We don’t have a cap. We’re not going to agree to a cap.”
When asked why Clark said because it’s the “ultimate restriction” on player salaries.
The MLB world reacted to Clark’s bold comments. M
“We don’t want a cap if anything baseball needs a cap floor,” one fan said.
“Can’t imagine a majority of owners want a cap if it also comes with a floor,” said yet another fan.
“I think this is a super powerful statement by the union, but I would also love to see Tony Clark also come out to demand a salary floor,” said another fan.
I think this is a super powerful statement by the union, but I would also love to see Tony Clark also come out to demand a salary floor https://t.co/fq7avRvu6l
— ce (@CEnrqz) February 25, 2023
“The only consistent, revenue-based growth in a salary-capped environment is league profit plus, players restricted by a cap would have their options whittled down every offseason,” said MLB writer Tim Ryder. “It would also invite (more) collusion/suppression all bogus. Players grow the game. Pay up.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.