MLB HOT STOVE ‘25-‘26

[WhiteTrash]

Maybe? People tune in to watch the players. What do owners do to earn 52% of the revenues...besides get some form of government to pay for the stadium where the games take place?

So you didn't really mean to state "Salary caps really just screw the players.". You believe the players unions are settling for too little of the revenue?

[The Sultan]

So you didn't really mean to state "Salary caps really just screw the players.". You believe the players unions are settling for too little of the revenue?

How about both!

[WhiteTrash]

How about both!

How and why the NFLPA, NBAPA or MLBPA haven't hired you is a great mystery. 

[MU82]

nm

[Pakuni]

So you didn't really mean to state "Salary caps really just screw the players.". You believe the players unions are settling for too little of the revenue?

I mean, they might be. The NFLPA is notoriously weak relative to other players unions. The MLBPA has never lost a work stoppage. The NFLPA has never won one. And, how is it that NFL players still don't get fully guaranteed contracts?

But maybe not. Maybe the inherent operational costs of an NFL franchise are greater than other sports (larger rosters and staffs, more injuries) and justify the owners keeping more revenue.

[dgies9156]

Not opposed, but a much bigger problem (IMO) than the revenue sharing system is that there's no mechanism that force owners to spend the shared revenue.
According to numbers I've seen, MLB teams pool 48% of their local revenues and divide them evenly, which works out to about $110 million per club. Add in the $90 million each receives in national revenues, and teams have a $200 million baseline to work with even before touching the other 52% of their local revenues.
And yet only 12 teams exceeded $200 million in payroll last season. That's inexcusable.
Obviously there are tons of other costs associated with running an MLB team. The two teams owned by public corps. - and therefore with somewhat open books - are the Blue Jays and Braves. According to their 2023 reports, non-baseball operating costs were $134 million and $137 million, respectively.

Until the owners are forced to spend more of the revenue they're making, there's no real justification for a cap. It'll merely be a tool to artificially depress wages.

There are many things we don't know about major league sports teams. For example, what's the costs of the minor league system/player development? Or, how much debt service is required of a particular owner. Most sports teams are bought with debt.

Also, how many partners have to be paid with net income after taxes? Who knows?

Ultimately, I'm opposed to a salary cap and I get why the players will fight it to the death. I would if I was them! The owners created this mess by expanding too much, which gives good players more leverage, by not consolidating all broadcast and cable/internet revenues and by simply paying ridiculous amounts of money to average players. Add to that the byzantine structure of the game for most of its first 110 years and the lessons that imparted on the players and this is a prescription for disaster.

[MU82]

Japanese pitching prospect Tatsuya Imai, who was posted this offseason and is No. 10 on The Athletic's Big Board, said yesterday he would rather beat the Dodgers than become the latest Japanese star to join them.

"Winning against a team like that and becoming a World Champion would be the most valuable thing in my life," the 27-year-old said in an interview with former MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Sonny Gray to the Red Sox in a trade.

[18thandWells]

Cubs draft pick and (two-time) White Sox playoff starter Dylan Cease signs a $210M contract with Toronto.

[MU82]

Kris Bryant still has three years, at $27M each, remaining on the 7-year, $182 million contract the Rockies gave him. He has never played more than 80 games for Colorado, and he's still hurt. The Athletic called it the worst contract given to any active ballplayer.

[dgies9156]

Sonny Gray to the Red Sox in a trade.

Makes sense.

He will be 36 on Opening Day. St. Louis is undertaking the "R" word -- rebuild! They're not likely to be competitive this year or next, so why not get some strong prospects that can anchor your rotation for years from now?

Hopefully what the Cardinals received is greater than what they gave up!

[Jockey]

Kris Bryant still has three years, at $27M each, remaining on the 7-year, $182 million contract the Rockies gave him. He has never played more than 80 games for Colorado, and he's still hurt. The Athletic called it the worst contract given to any active ballplayer.

I think some of us said so at the time.