LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
Why MLB Is Focused on Competitive Balance
MLB believes the growing gap in team payrolls is making it harder for fans in every market to believe their team has a fair chance to compete.
Baseball has gotten stronger because we listened to fans and made changes designed to improve the game, including the pitch clock and ABS Challenge. Now, MLB is focused on another challenge: the widening gap between the league’s highest- and lowest-spending clubs.
How a Salary Cap and Floor Would Address the Gap
MLB’s proposed salary cap and floor is intended to narrow payroll disparities and give more teams a realistic opportunity to compete over time.
Fans overwhelmingly support a cap-and-floor system, similar to the structures used across the other major American professional sports leagues, because they do not believe a $446 million spending gap from top to bottom represents a fair fight. MLB’s proposal would also share baseball revenue with players 50/50 and distribute media revenue more equally, while helping address another major fan concern: local TV blackouts.
We look forward to working with the MLBPA during the bargaining process to continue improving the game for fans.
It’s time to level the playing field.
Last updated Sept. 3, 2026