Juan Soto Calls Out Salary Cap Proposed by MLB Owners in CBA Talks Amid Historic $765M Mets Contract

New York Mets star Juan Soto is firmly in the camp that Major League Baseball doesn't need a salary cap amid the ongoing labor talks between owners and the MLBPA.

Speaking to The Athletic's Will Sammon, Soto explained MLB is "doing great" financially and questioned the desire from ownership to implement a cap.

"I don't think that's right, to have a cap," Soto said. "Baseball is doing great. We've been increasing every year. It's been great for baseball. We are in the best moment in baseball right now in all kinds of ways. Why should we have a cap?"

The two sides recently met to exchange proposals for a new CBA, with the biggest story coming out of it was the inclusion of a salary cap from the ownership side.

In an attempt to entice the union, owners also included a salary floor that teams would have to meet. The floor would be set at $171.2 million, while the cap would be at $245.3 million in 2027.

Using Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract as perspective, his $57.5 million salary next season would account for 23.4 percent of the Mets' entire cap if the system were to be implemented.

It certainly doesn't sound like the MLBPA is prepared to budge on their unwillingness for a cap. The union said in a statement cap systems "harm players at all levels, erode or eliminate contractual guarantees, pit player against player, lead to more work stoppages, not less, and get worse for players over time."

The statement also pointed out a salary cap doesn't do anything for the cost of games to fans, or "ensure teams are run with equal competence."

MLB has not publicly stated league revenues for the 2025 season at this point, but The Athletic's Evan Drellich noted it did bring in $12.1 billion during the 2024 campaign.

As a comparison, the NBA revenue for the 2024-25 season was $12.3 billion. MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin has said the owners desire for a cap is "fixing the payroll disparity unseen in any other major U.S. sport."

Combining team payroll and luxury tax payments, the Los Angeles Dodgers are spending the most on roster talent this season at $421.8 million. The Miami Marlins are last at $81.9 million.

The Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, along with the Dodgers, are the only teams that have paid the competitive balance tax in three straight years.

A total of nine teams have exceeded the $244 million CBT threshold this season. There are 11 teams spending under $150 million, with the Marlins and Cleveland Guardians both below the $100 million mark.

MLB's current CBA is set to expire on Dec. 1. The last work stoppage occurred in 2022 before the league and union agreed to a deal on March 10, allowing the league to have a full spring training and 162-game regular season.

There hasn't been a labor dispute that resulted in games being missed since the 1994-95 strike that cancelled the 1994 World Series and shortened the 1995 season to 144 games.