Five-year contract limit? MLB's drastic labor offer bashed by players

Major League Baseball continued its pattern of radical proposals in collective bargaining, proposing a five-year limit on free agent contracts and eliminating contract deferrals, an offer the MLB Players' Association quickly derided as "misleading" and would "eliminate the free market."

The proposals come within the context of a $245.3 million salary cap MLB laid out in a previous proposal, and the cap remains the most explosive point of contention between management and labor. MLB first sought a salary cap in CBA negotiations in 1994, a year that ended with the cancellation of the World Series as the work stoppage dragged into the following year.

The current CBA expires Dec. 1, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has strongly suggested the league will lock out the players, as it did in December 2021 during the last major round of bargaining.

The five-year contract length - it would be six years for players returning to their current team - severely limits the earning power of players in the prime of their career. New York Mets slugger Juan Soto is the game's highest-paid player, signing a 15-year, $765 million contract after the 2024 season.

Another previous proposal barred players younger than 20 from the draft, and international players younger than 18 from signing with a club; they can currently sign at 16. Both proposals would significantly delay free agency for young players, especially elite talents such as Soto and Bryce Harper, who each debuted at 19.

MLB's most recent proposal did throw the union a pair of crumbs it has previously requested - the elimination of the qualifying offer for free agents and free agency for players 30 years and older once they reach five years service time; it's currently six years for all players.

Yet those concessions pale compared to the cap on both salaries and contract length, which would cost players billions of dollars over time.

"After making a series of proposals to reduce player compensation by billions of dollars, eliminate fundamental rights with a salary cap, and destroy the amateur entry process, Major League Baseball and team owners are now attempting to distract from the true impact their plan would have on baseball," the MLBPA said in a statement. "These misleading offers are designed to look like ‘improvements’ but are of little or no value, given they are expressly conditioned on agreement to the league’s cap system which eliminates the free market, and ensures gains for one player only come at the expense of another.

"The league also introduced a litany of additional restrictions on player rights – limiting salaries, contract length, performance, award, and signing bonuses. While MLB claims to be acting in the interest of fans, their proposals thus far are entirely consistent with owners’ long-held goals: suppressing player salaries and maximizing club profits."

MLB also offered to raise the minimum salary for players with at least two years of service time from $780,000 to $1 million, though many third-year players receive nominal raises after their rookie seasons. It also proposed raising the pre-arbitration salary pool - designed for Rookies of the Year and high achieving young players - by 30%.

"Today, in addition to proposing the largest ever increase in minimum salary, earned by over half of MLB players, we accepted two landmark changes to free agency that have been in place for 50 years," Glen Caplin, MLB's special assistant, baseball operations said in a statement. "We agreed to both the MLBPA's proposal to provide earlier access to free agency, and their proposal to eliminate the qualifying offer system, a provision players view as a drag on free agency.

"We also proposed to eliminate deferred compensation and create a new "Cornerstone Player" provision similar to the NBA's "Bird Rights" to give every team a fair shot at retaining their fans' favorite star players. We will continue working iwth the MLBPA during the bargaining process to improve the game for teams, players and fans."

The MLBPA's strength has long been built on a top-down assumption that the highest earners will drive salaries for all players. It intends to hew to that as negotiations continue.

The sides have one more bargaining session scheduled before the July All-Star break.

"Owners’ attempts to pit players against players are nothing new, but they've failed in the past and will fail again now, because PA members remain unified," said the MLBPA. "We are committed to achieving a fair deal that protects the rights of all players, promotes competition, and leaves our game better for future generations."