Overview
- Owners are preparing a cap push that some executives say could jeopardize the 2027 season, with ESPN reporting they are "ready to burn the f---ing house down" to get it.
- Reporting from The Athletic describes a likely opening proposal built on an NHL-style hard cap with a roughly $160 million payroll floor and $240 million ceiling plus phased implementation and limits on contract length.
- The MLB Players Association has rejected any cap, with past statements from Tony Clark reaffirming the stance and union official Bruce Meyer disputing owners’ competitive-balance claims.
- The Dodgers’ record spending and use of deferrals, highlighted by recent headline deals and a 2026 luxury-tax payroll reported around $401 million, have intensified owner frustration, while Rob Manfred acknowledged fan concerns and ongoing RSN revenue strains at owners meetings in Palm Beach.
- Alternatives and penalties are being floated, including Scott Boras’s call for a centralized national media-rights model to boost revenues and a podcast proposal to tax sub‑threshold payrolls that Jeff Passan endorsed, as analysts warn a higher floor and shorter player-control timelines could squeeze clubs like the Reds, Cardinals and Pirates.