Rob Manfred: Fans are concerned with salary limit
Commissioner Rob Manfred says he is receiving electronic fans of fans worried about the lack of a salary cap in MLB after a wave of Dodgers expenses.
Palm Beach, Fla. – The Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred He says he is receiving electronic fans concerned about the lack of a salary cap in sport after a wave of expenses out of season by the Los Angeles Dodgers that generated greater attention to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement in December 2026.
“This is an issue to which we must be attentive,” said Manfred on Thursday after the end of a meeting of owners. “We need to pay attention to it and determine if there are things that can be done to dissipate such concerns and make sure we have a competitive and healthy game in the future.”
The biggest baseball speaker in 2024 won the World Series: The Dodgers had a luxury payroll of $ 353 million and had to pay a $ 103 million tax. The athletics had the lowest luxury taxes, just under $ 84 million.
“Dodgers are a very well directed and successful organization,” said Manfred. “Everything they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They are trying to give their fans the best possible product. All these are positive aspects. However, I recognize, and my emails certainly reflect it, that there are fans in others in others Markets that are concerned about the ability of your team to compete.
The Yankees, champions of the American League -One of the teams that has spent the most in baseball for decades- even have concerns about the direction that the game is taking in the Financial Front, and how difficult it is to match the way in which dodgers can spend.
“It is difficult for most of us, the owners, to be able to do the kind of things they are doing. We will see if it results,” said the owner of the Yankees, Hal Steinbrennerin an interview that was broadcast last week in the YES chain. “Anyway, they must have a relatively free season of injuries to work. It is a long season, as you know, and once you reach the postseason, anything can happen. We have seen it again and again.”
The players oppose a salary stop and rejected a proposal with a strike of seven and a half months in 1994-95, which led to the cancellation of the World Series.
“I would like us to have a salary stop in baseball as other sports have it, and we may have it at some point, but we don’t have it now,” said the new owner of the Orioles, David Rubensteinto Yahoo Finance in the World Economic Forum last month. “I suspect that we will probably have something closer to what they have NFL and the NBAbut there is no guarantee of that. “
Negotiations are expected to begin in the spring of 2026. The American sports leagues have preferred the out -of -season employer closures to determine the time of labor strikes instead of risking strikes during the season.
“There are still two years left, even if you think you want to negotiate early,” said Manfred. “We have things underway in terms of the game economy, the local media being the main, which we hope, the more it will evolve, the better decisions we will make.”
Manfred was questioned about the dismissal of the Referee Pat Hoberg for sharing his legal accounts of sports bets with a friend who bet on baseball matches and for intentionally eliminating electronic messages relevant to the League investigation.
The MLB He opened the investigation in February 2024 when the betting house informed him about it, and Hoberg did not arbitrate last season. The MLB said that the investigation did not discover evidence that Hoberg personally bet on baseball or manipulated parties, but the senior vice president of operations in the MLB field, Michael Hillhe recommended on May 24 to dismiss Hoberg.
“I think we have a much greater capacity to monitor what is happening and determine if there is something that should not be happening today than when, you know, the game was done in rear rooms and was illegal,” said Manfred. “It is always a threat. We spend a lot of time and money, we get much more information, we simply have access to much more information now that it is legal.”
Manfred said he has the same position as the NBA commissioner, Adam Silverthat a set of rules for sports bets throughout the country would make more sense than the current state model per state.
“I think I can be federalist in the broadest sense of the word,” said Manfred. “I have always believed that a unique set of rules is probably better than going state by state.”
The Rays will play this season at the Yankees Spring Training Stadium, the George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa stadium, with capacity for 11,000 people, after the damage caused to Tropicana Field Field from St. Petersburg by Hurricane Milton that started the roof on October 9. The owner of the Rays, Stuart Sternbergand government officials have not been able to close an agreement for a new stadium.
“The way I say it is important: I’m spending a long time with Stu,” said Manfred. “I think he faces an extraordinarily difficult situation and we are trying to solve it.”
The Rays have until March 31 to commit to the agreement for the stadium with the city of St. Petersburg. The team has expressed concern that the planned baseball stadium does not open until 2029 and the team does not want to be responsible for higher costs.
“We are always and we have always been prepared to adapt, adjust and move on if the Rays move away from this association,” said St. Petersburg mayor, Ken Welchthis week in his speech about the state of the city.
The MLB is taking note of a change in attitude towards diversity programs by the federal government since Donald Trump became president.
“Our values, particularly our values and diversity, remain the same,” said Manfred. “But another value that is quite important for us is that we always try to comply with what the law says. It seems that there is an evolution in progress here. We are following it very closely. Obviously, when things get a little more, We will examine each of our programs and make sure that, although the values remain the same, we are also consistent with what the law demands. “
Changes in the MLB Executive Council
The president of the METS, Steve Cohenand the managing partner of the AthleticsJohn Fisher, were chosen for the Executive Council of eight people, replacing the managing partner of the PhilisJohn Middleton, and the president of the Real, John Sherman.
The Council also includes the general managing partner of the Diamondbacks, Ken Kendrickand to the president of the Mariners, John Stanton (whose mandates expire in 2026), to the president of the Giants, Greg Johnsonand to the president of the Guardians, Paul Dolan (2027), and the president of the Marlins, Bruce Shermanand the owner of Angels, Moreno art (2028).
