Bryce Harper Reportedly Told Rob Manfred to 'Get the F--k Out' over Salary Cap Talk

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred's tactic of going around to clubhouses around the league as he attempts to build support for a salary cap with looming negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement was recently met with push back from Bryce Harper.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, during a recent meeting between the commissioner and Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies star told Manfred to "get the f--k out of our clubhouse" if he was going to start talking about potentially implementing a salary cap.

Passan noted Manfred didn't explicitly use the term "salary cap," but he "raised the ire of Harper" when bringing up the topic about MLB's economic state.

Passan noted Manfred responded to Harper by saying he was "not going to get the f--k out of here" and felt it was important to talk about how to grow the sport, as well as threats to the league's business.

Even though Manfred's clubhouse tour to visit all 30 teams is a regular part of his job to keep up relations with the players, there has been a lot of attention paid to what his messaging has been this time around.

In a June 30 report from The Athletic's Evan Drellich, Manfred said during an investor event held by the Atlanta Braves that he's trying to use an apparent divide within the MLBPA to push the message from ownership that a salary cap would benefit everyone.

Among the talking points Manfred used were to say that revenue spending on players has decreased by 16 percent from his first time as chief negotiator in 2002 (63 percent) to today (47 percent); and telling players the top 10 percent of players earn 72 percent of all the money being spent on payroll.

Drellich noted it wasn't clear how MLB calculated the latter figure.

In a separate report from Drellich on July 21, the MLBPA believes Manfred is trying to use the Commissioner’s Ambassador Program to "undermine the union and convince today’s players to accept a salary cap."

The Commissioner’s Ambassador Program was formed in 2023 and currently features 19 former players, including new Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, who participate in MLB events to support the growth of the sport.

Bruce Meyer, MLBPA's deputy executive director, said on the Foul Territory podcast (h/t Drellich) that it was questionable to have former players to speak with active players while they are being paid by the league.

"All due respect to anybody who played the game, and in terms of what guys choose to do in their post-careers, I’m not going to question that. I will say, there are players who are being paid by MLB and who are going with Rob to the locker rooms and trying to sell players on a system that this union has historically thought was bad for players, and that they themselves didn’t have to live under when they played."

The situation between Manfred and Harper was described to Passan as "pretty intense, definitely passionate" by Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos.

According to Passan, Manfred and Harper eventually shook hands when the meeting ended, but Harper declined to answer a phone call from the commissioner the following day.

There is a strong feeling among analysts who cover MLB that a lockout is going to happen when the current CBA expires after the 2026 season in part because there's a belief owners will push for a salary cap.

MLB is the only one of the four major men's sports leagues in North America that doesn't have a salary cap. The competitive balance tax has added more penalties over the years, it gives clubs an excuse not to spend money if they are approaching the threshold.

If there is a lockout when the current CBA expires, it would mark the second work stoppage in MLB since the end of the 1994-95 player strike. The previous lockout lasted 99 days from Dec. 2, 2021 to March 10, 2022.