MLB Pushes Proposed Salary Cap and Floor to 2028
AI-generated image · US National Wire
The league's latest proposal increases spending limits and delays implementation to avoid disrupting the current free-agent market.
Major League Baseball has proposed delaying the implementation of a salary cap and floor system until the 2028 season, as MLB first reported. The league intends to use the current Competitive Balance Tax and revenue sharing plan in 2027 before transitioning to a 50/50 revenue split with players and centralized media revenues in 2028.
MLB spokesman Glen Caplin stated that the delay provides clubs a full offseason to prepare, avoiding significant disruptions to the free-agent market. Under the new proposal, the 2028 cap is set at $258.2 million—an increase of nearly $13 million over the initial 2027 proposal of $245.3 million. The 2028 floor is set at $180.2 million, which is $9 million higher than the previously proposed $171.2 million.
According to MLB, 12 clubs would be required to spend a combined $636 million more to hit the floor based on 2026 payrolls: the Marlins, Guardians, Cardinals, Rays, Nationals, White Sox, Twins, Rockies, Pirates, Athletics, Reds, and Brewers. Conversely, eight clubs would need to reduce payrolls by a combined $528 million to fit under the cap: the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, Padres, Red Sox, and Cubs.
Despite the delay to the cap, MLB's proposal maintains a 2027 timeline for other benefits. These include reducing the reserve period to five years for 30-year-old players, raising the minimum salary to $1 million, and boosting the pre-arbitration bonus pool by 30% (from $50 million in 2026 to $65 million in 2027).