As MLB grapples with seismic economic issues, its union’s executive director, Tony Clark, made one thing clear on Saturday: any changes to the financial structure of the major leagues will not include a salary cap.
“We’re never going to agree to a cap. Let me start there,” Clark said, per The Athletic‘s Evan Drellich. “We don’t have a cap. We’re not going to agree to a cap. A salary cap is the ultimate restriction on player value and player salary. We believe in a market system. The market system has served our players, our teams and our game very well.”
Clark made his comments in the wake of commissioner Rob Manfred announcing that MLB had recently established an economic reform committee, which has two purposes: handling revenue disparities between teams and navigating changes in regional sports networks and broadcast distribution.
The former issue has been a long-standing one that’s existed for decades. Teams’ financial records are not made public, but the disparities in payrolls between clubs range wildly: Last season, the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees all had payrolls over $250 million, according to Spotrac. Eight clubs had payrolls under $100 million, with two—the A’s and Orioles—clocking in at less than $50 million.
Clark believes that one of the main goals of the committee is to suppress players’ salaries.
“The economic reform committee is not a new idea,” Clark said. “They had a Blue Ribbon panel, and even an economic committee that was put together back in 1991. … Those two in particular, and perhaps even this third, based on the comments that came out today, is focused in on how best to depress player salaries. That’s the underlying theme there.”
MLB and the union’s current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2026. Clark said other issues that remain as key talking points are the possibility of a salary floor, minor league roster sizes and the arbitration process, though Clark believes that none of these issues is likely to lead to a work stoppage.
Overall, though, the veteran union leader took an optimistic view on the health of the major leagues.
“There was a lot of discussion in 2020 about the challenges that the industry had,” Clark said. “There were a number of positions taken suggesting that the industry was in harm’s way, and was unlikely to come out of it for years following. And yet, 2021 [league-wide] revenue was nearly back to what it was pre-pandemic; 2022 is above what it was pre-pandemic. And so the industry is doing well.”
