The MLB CBA expires at the end of 2026. Owners are talking about a salary cap -- MLB is the only North American sport without a salary cap while the MLBPA apparently are vehemently against it.
In fact, players didn't want to hear Manfred discuss the topic recently.
The confrontation came in a meeting -- one of the 30 that Manfred conducts annually in an effort to improve his relations with every team's players -- that lasted more than an hour. Though Manfred never explicitly said the words "salary cap," sources said the discussion about the game's economics raised the ire of Harper, one of MLB's most influential players and a two-time National League MVP.
Ahead of the expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association on Dec. 1, 2026, multiple owners have stumped for a salary cap in baseball, the only major men's North American sport without one. The MLBPA vehemently opposes a cap, which it argues serves more as a tool to increase franchise values than to lessen the game's large disparity between high- and low-spending teams.
Quiet for the majority of the meeting, Harper, sitting in a chair and holding a bat, eventually grew frustrated and said if MLB were to propose a cap and hold firm to it, players "are not scared to lose 162 games," sources from the meeting told ESPN. Harper stood up, walked toward the middle of the room, faced Manfred and said: "If you want to speak about that, you can get the f--- out of our clubhouse."
Manfred, sources said, responded that he was "not going to get the f--- out of here," saying it was important to talk about threats to MLB's business and ways to grow the game.
Before the situation further intensified, veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos tried to defuse the tension, saying: "I have more questions." The meeting continued, and Harper and Manfred eventually shook hands, sources said, though Harper declined to answer phone calls from Manfred the next day.
"It was pretty intense, definitely passionate," Castellanos told ESPN. "Both of 'em. The commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner. That's Harp. He's been doing this since he was 15 years old. It's just another day. I wasn't surprised."
When reached by ESPN, Harper declined to comment. Manfred declined to comment through a league spokesperson.
After a "pretty intense" exchange between Bryce Harper and commissioner Rob Manfred during a team meeting in the Phillies' clubhouse, the two eventually shook hands, but Harper declined to answer calls from Manfred the next day, sources told ESPN.
Though he has not been outspoken on labor issues in previous years, the 32-year-old Harper, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, personified the union's perspective on the prospect of a capped system. At the All-Star Game in Atlanta earlier this month, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark called salary caps "institutionalized collusion," and in a February interview with ESPN, he said: "We always have been and continue to be ready to talk about ways to improve the industry, and we do a lot of things with the league to do exactly that. You don't need a salary cap to grow the industry."
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45842533/sources-phillies-bryce-harper-tells-mlb-boss-get-clubhouse
There is far more disparity in MLB payrolls than NBA payrolls.
For instance, Dodgers and Mets have the highest payrolls at $340 and $333 million whereas the lowest payroll teams are the White Sox, A's and Marlins at $78, $77 and $68 million respectively. So there's almost a 5 to 1 ratio between the highest payroll team and the lowest payroll team.
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll
In the NBA, the highest payrolls for the 2025-26 season are the Cavs at $224.6 and Celtics at $205.9 million and the lowest payrolls are the Wizards, Jazz and Nets at $135.4, $133.25 and $114.3 million for active players. That means Cavs have less than a 2-1 ratio over the Nets.
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap
The MLBPA accuses the owners of pushing for a salary cap to boost team valuations. It's not clear that a salary cap, if it led to more parity, would make the sport more popular, possibly leading to more lucrative TV contracts and more revenues.
ESPN is willing to walk away from MLB TV rights unless they can negotiate for much lower fees, so while the biggest stars like Ohtani and Judge are on two of the highest-spending teams in the sport, it's not clear that they make the sport overall more popular. No doubt the Dodgers and the NY teams are probably getting great local TV ratings and attendance.
But most of the other teams can't spend over $300 million to try to compete for WS rings.
Also not clear if a salary cap would make the sport more popular either. When superstars of the sport sign 10 or 15 year contracts worth well over $500 billion, does it make the sport more or less popular?
Do fans of teams who can't sign the biggest free agents every year like the Dodgers and the NY teams still remain interested in the sport?
