New MLB Rumors Reveal Proposed Salary Cap as Owners Keep $2B in 'War Chest' for Potential Lockout

MLB owners will reportedly push for the implementation of a salary cap as part of the next collective bargaining agreement.

According to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the "initial" sense is that the cap floor for a first proposal would be between $140 million and $160 million while the ceiling would fall into the range of $260 million and $280 million. It would have to be "grandfathered in for a few years."

MLB owners have also funded a "war chest" of approximately $75 million per team in order to provide financial protection in case of a work stoppage, per Heyman and Sherman. The ownership fund contains a total value of over $2 billion.

The MLB Players Association has a "significant" war chest as part of a standard preparation for a possible lockout as well, via Heyman and Sherman.

The MLBPA will enter CBA negotiations with Bruce Meyer as its interim executive director following the resignation of Tony Clark.

Heyman and Sherman reported Thursday that players remain "adamantly against" a salary cap and have expressed a "strong expectation" that a lockout will occur when the current CBA expires. Substantive discussions between both sides have yet to begin.

The MLB and MLBPA reportedly held a preliminary meeting in Nov. 2025.

According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the league could pursue the addition of a "hard-cap" model based off the NHL instead of the NBA's cap system that includes tax and apron thresholds.

Owners are willing to discuss significantly increasing the current minimum wage of $780,000 and lowering the service time required to reach arbitration and free agency as "bargaining chips" if they can receive a salary cap in return, per Heyman and Sherman.

An MLB work stoppage hasn't occurred since 1994, resulting in a shortened 1995 season.

The current CBA expires on Dec. 1.