MLB salary cap

[Ruminator]

There's quite a bit of talk right now about implementing a salary cap in Major League Baseball, both a ceiling max and a floor min. Mr. Viens posted a chart (below) of all 30 teams and how much each team would "gain" or "lose" which I thought was interesting. Guess which division has four of its five teams smack dab in the middle eight that would not move in either direction?

 

[sutz]

The trick for the owners is a viable revenue sharing system. Hard to do because baseball, unlike football, doesn't have major nationwide media deals to work with. It's consolidating a little bit as regional channels - like ROOT Sports locally - fall off the airwaves, but still there is no national media entity willing to air all the games. Without workable revenue sharing, the small markets won't be able to pay the floor.

For the players, of course, this means no more half billion dollar deals dangling like a worm on a hook for them. For most of the players, it works out OK, but there is still little incentive for them to buy in.

Having said that, the MLB desperately needs a salary cap. Having championships decided purely by who spends the most money is unsatisfying, to say the least.

 

[Blazenhawks]

Since many teams are moving to MLB.TV, this might make revenue sharing more viable than we initially thought. I was also surprised at how fair the first offer from MLB was—it seems pretty reasonable to have both a salary cap and a floor. I also hope they eliminate deferred contracts and clean up the system.

 

[IndyHawk]

I'm all for a strict cap unlike the NFLs version, no more Yankees and Dodgers
just stacking up their teams because they got the most money, it's more than
just them two.
It also forces teams like Tampa or the A's to spend a certain amount, to me it
levels the playing field.
The owners may make more but they always have, it was much worse in years
past and they still will make more with or without cap in the next deal.
I'd love to play a kid's game for only $250K, if players cannot handle being paid
many more millions than most will ever see in their lifetime, maybe they need to
find a better job?
You will get no sympathy from me because you likely won't get your $20-30 million
a year as easily.