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Major League Baseball owners and players have agreed upon a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the Thursday expiration of the current deal.

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MLBPA, MLB Reach Agreement on New CBA

Wednesday, Nov. 30

MLB announced the news on Wednesday, adding the two parties are continuing to draft the entirety of the agreement, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet. The agreement is for five years, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  

The luxury-tax threshold will be around $195 million and rise to $210 million-$215 million over the life of the deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman added there will be a 60-70 percent penalty for "those extremely over threshold, about $250 million in payrolls or greater." 

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported an international draft will not be a part of the new CBA, and each team will be limited to between $5 million to $6 million for international signings. 

Sherman also reported rosters will stay the same with 25 active players and September call-ups. 

CBA Talks Reportedly Could Impact Winter Meetings

Monday, Nov. 28

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported club officials "understand that if sufficient progress isn't made this week," teams won't take part in the winter meetings, which take place Dec. 4-8.

On Nov. 23, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported negotiations "have progressed this week, to the point where sources finally are expressing optimism that an agreement can be reached before owners impose a lockout.

"Two sources who had spoken with both sides told ESPN.com on Wednesday that they now sense there is 'a path to a deal,' following negotiations Tuesday that stretched into the night."

On Nov. 22, Rosenthal reported the owners were considering locking out the players if the two sides failed to agree on a new CBA before the current deal expires.

International Draft No Longer Essential to Striking New Deal

Monday, Nov. 28

The owners have "backed off" the international draft as a requirement for a new agreement, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.

The news comes after Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported earlier a "significant number" of Latin-American players were expected to be at Monday's bargaining session to fight the international draft.

Passan noted "Latin representation at union meetings has been an issue in the past," but the divisiveness of the issue "spurred interest." Passan called the move a "bold play" by the players' union, saying "the implication is it is putting a line in the sand" on the international draft.

Multiple Sticking Points Held Up New CBA

A lockout in the offseason would have impacted roster decisions, such as free-agent signings and trades. Rosenthal did say the winter meetings could still happen Dec. 4-8, but there wouldn't be "the usual frenzy of major league activity."

The threat of the lockout had loomed over Tony Clark, who heads the players' union, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in their first time in their current roles. Clark replaced the late Michael Weiner, but Rosenthal noted Manfred served as the lead negotiator for MLB in the last three collective bargaining agreements before taking over as commissioner.

According to Rosenthal, owners were frustrated with how slow the discussions from the players' union had been, noting "a number of significant issues remained unresolved." He also quoted an anonymous player who said at the time, "We are not afraid of a lockout."

Rosenthal broke down a few of the issues holding up negotiations, including draft-pick compensation.

In the current system, teams lose a draft pick when they sign a free agent who received a qualifying offer. If draft-pick compensation were removed, there would be unrestricted free agency, and teams would theoretically be more willing to sign marquee players without fearing the loss of a draft pick.

Rosenthal also pointed to the competitive-balance tax and the Joint Drug Agreement as other issues the two sides were "at odds over" before an agreement was struck.