Details From The New 2022-2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement
In the new CBA, teams are guaranteed at least seven open days over the final 67 days of the season, with at least three open days in the final 32 days of the regular season. That was not a provision in the previous CBA.
Minimum salaries in the new CBA are $700,000 in 2022, $720,000 in 2023, $740,000 in 2024, $760,000 in 2025 and $780,000 in 2026.
A player who is signing a second major league contract is guaranteed the following minimum salaries in the minor leagues:
2022: $114,100;
2023: $117,400;
2024: $120,600;
2025: $123,900;
2026: $127,100.
For players on their first MLB contract, their minor league minimum salaries are:
2022: $57,200;
2023: $58,800;
2024: $60,300;
2025: $62,000;
2026: $63,600.
The dates for players and teams to exchange salary arbitration figures are
2023: Friday, January 13
2024: Friday, January 12
2025: Friday, January 10
2026: Friday, January 9
A player who has been tendered an arbitration offer who reached an agreement on a contract before it is heard by the arbitration panel shall be eligible for termination pay if the player is terminated for failing to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability prior to Opening Day. That was not explicitly spelled out in the previous CBA.
The daily per diem for players will be $117.50 per day for in-season meal and tip allowance when on the road if the club does not provide a meal. If the club does provide a meal, the per diem is $34.50. If the game is postponed within two hours of scheduled first pitch, the per diem is $34.50. If the postponement occurs more than two hours prior to first pitch, the per diem for that day is $117.50. It will be adjusted by a cost of living adjustment each year of the agreement.
During spring training, players receive a weekly base allowance of $369.50, and players who live away from the club’s spring training headquarters receive an additional weekly allowance of $65.60. This is subject to a cost of living adjustment each year of the agreement.
The spring training meal and tip allowance shall be $104.50 per day with cost of living adjustments for each year of the agreement.
New for this CBA is a notation that each team is obligated to assist players in finding housing during spring training. Clubs that do not intend to make spring training housing available at club expense are required to provide written notice to the players before Jan. 1 of the relevant spring training season.
Ever wonder what players get if they are selected to the All-Star Game or Home Run Derby?
Each player elected or selected to the All-Star team or as a participant in the Home Run Derby and who attends the event shall receive the following: (a) six complimentary tickets to the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby for use by player guests (players may request fewer complimentary tickets and players may purchase additional tickets for guests in accordance with past practice); (b) first-class air transportation for himself and two guests (to the extent that such expenses are actually incurred); (c) first-class hotel accommodations for himself and two guests (up to two rooms, if necessary) for a maximum of three days; (d) the applicable in-season meal and tip allowance for three days; (e) a $1,000 cash stipend; (f) a gift from the player’s League; and (g) merchandise that is made available by Major League Baseball’s business partners. Players elected or selected to the All-Star team also shall receive a ring and, if they are attending their 5th, 10th or 15th All-Star Game as an All-Star, shall also receive a gift/memento and special recognition.
Playoff Player’s Pool
The players’ percentage of gate receipts from wild card games has been increased. In the previous CBA it was 50% of the total gate receipts from each game after deducting travel expenses of the visiting clubs (up to a maximum of $100,000 per club) from the total gate. Now players receive 60% of the total gate receipts of the first two games of each Wild Card series.
Pre-Arbitration Performance Bonus Program
The players’ union made it a point of emphasis in the latest CBA to direct more money to young stars whose actual value far outstripped their earning potential. The result is the Pre-Arbitration Performance Bonus Program.
Baseball’s salary structure ensures that players with fewer than three years of MLB service are almost uniformly paid the major league minimum salary, no matter how many wins they contribute to their teams or awards they win.
Once a player qualifies for arbitration after three years of service—the top 22% of two-plus-year service players, also known as Super Twos, also qualify—he may command a salary more in line with his accomplishments by comparing his salary to other players of similar stature and tenure.
But when the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes won the NL Cy Young Award in 2021, for example, he made the major league minimum because he had fewer than three years of MLB service.
Under the new CBA guidelines, Burnes would have received a $2.5 million bonus, funded centrally by the commissioner’s office, for winning the award.
Here’s how it works:
The commissioner’s office sets aside a $50 million pool to distribute among pre-arbitration players at the conclusion of each season. Players classified as “foreign professionals,” which this year includes Kodai Senga and Masataka Yoshida, are excluded. Payment amounts are determined by awards won and statistical achievement.
The initial distribution of $50 million is paid out to eligible pre-arbitration players who finish top five in MVP or Cy Young Award voting, place first or second in Rookie of the Year voting or make the All-MLB first or second team.
$2.5 million: MVP or CYA first place
$1.75 million: MVP or CYA second place
$1.5 million: MVP or CYA third place
$1 million: MVP or CYA fourth or fifth place; All-MLB first team
$750,000: ROY first place
$500,000: ROY second place; All-MLB second team
Players may win only one bonus each season—the highest single bonus amount for which he qualifies. For example, an eligible pre-arb player who wins both MVP and ROY would receive $2.5 million for MVP and no additional bonus for ROY.
MLB also includes the following clause: “Bonuses for All-MLB awards are contingent on the Player participating in any awards ceremony,” which could hint at a greater emphasis being placed on the All-MLB team in the future.
After award phase bonuses are awarded, the remaining amount in the $50 million pool is distributed among players who place top 100 in an MLB proprietary metric called “Joint WAR.” Eligible pre-arb players are paid in accordance with the percentage of Joint WAR they contributed to the pool of eligible players.
Mental Health Resources
New to this CBA is a note that if clubs provide sports psychology services, mental skills training or other similar resources, participation by players is on a voluntary, confidential basis and must be offered in a private space.
Infectious Disease Committee
The last CBA was agreed to before the coronavirus pandemic arrived. New to this CBA is a joint MLB-MLBPA Infectious Disease Committee that will review the state of infection risk at MLB ballparks and other MLB facilities and will make non-bonding recommendations about best practices.
The non-discrimination clause has a new addition. It now notes that the provisions of the CBA apply to all players without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation or any other classification protected under Federal law. The inclusion of “sex” and “gender identity and expression” is new to this CBA.
The new pre-arbitration performance bonus program is a completely new addition for this CBA. More details on the summary of the provisions to come.
Player limits
The new CBA formally limits teams to 26 active players and a minimum of 25 active players during the regular season, with a provision that teams may dip below 25 active players for unforeseen circumstances if they bring the active roster back to 25 or more within 48 hours plus the time needed for players to report. And the limit of 28 players from Sept. 1 until the end of the season is specified. Both have been in effect, but the previous CBA had limits of 25 active players during the season and 40 after Sept. 1.
If the active player limits are not agreed to in a new CBA, at the expiration of the current CBA, they will revert to the previous 2017-2021 CBA terms of 25 active players and expansion to up to 40 active players on Sept. 1.
Player Notices
In the past, the CBA allowed players to specify if they wanted to receive notices and forms in English or Spanish. In the new CBA, it says players may request they receive all notices and forms in English or their native language.
Spanish interpreter
Where the previous CBA specified that each club must retain a full-time year-round bilingual media coordinator, the new CBA refers to it as a Spanish Interpreter. The qualifications have been revised to note that the interpreter must be able to conduct simultaneous or consecutive interpretation with accuracy and high speed of delivery in both languages, something that wasn’t specified in the past CBA. It also requires they be certified as a translator by an accredited institution or have equivalent work experience, something that was not specified before.
All-Star Game Tiebreaker
If an all-star game is tied after nine innings, each team shall pick three players to participate in a home run derby tiebreaker. Each player gets three swings (out of an unlimited number of pitches) to hit as many home runs as they can. The team with the most home runs out of its three selected players wins. If the game is still tied, one player from each team takes three more swings until a winner is determined.
The winning all-star team splits an $800,000 bonus, up from $640,000 in the previous CBA.
In-game All-Star Interviews
Each all-star team is encouraged to have a catcher, first baseman and one or more outfielders to wear a microphone during the All-Star Game with a guarantee from the MLBPA that at least two players per team will wear microphones. In addition, the MLBPA is requested to provide three players per team to wear two-way microphones to conduct in-game interviews. Players that agree to wear the two-way microphone will receive $10,000 in the 2023 All-Star Game and $15,000 beginning with the 2024 All-Star Game.
Special Events
Up to four series per season can be scheduled at sites other than an MLB or MiLB ballpark. That’s an increase from two series in the previous CBA. Each player on the active roster receives a $20,000 stipend per game for participating in these special events. MLB also agrees to donate $100,000 to the Player’s Trust charity for each special event. Each team receives $40,000 per game to distribute among non-playing personnel who participate in the special event.
Competition Committee
The Competition Committee has been established to recommend and adopt new or amended playing or scoring rules that affect players. It has 11 voting members with four players, six individuals appointed by MLB and one umpire. The committee may adopt, revise or repeal any playing rule and determine when that revision, repeal or adoption shall go into effect, and it is determined by majority vote. Any rules adjustments will be finalized and announced before spring training reporting dates for that season. If a rule does not significantly affect players, the clubs agree to give the MLBPA notice of the changes, but are not obligated to negotiate those changes.
Oakland’s Revenue Sharing
In the past CBA, the A’s were considered market disqualified from receiving revenue sharing beginning with the offseason after the 2020 season. This year, they are considered a revenue sharing payee and not market disqualified.
Uniform Opt-Out Dates
New to this CBA are uniform opt-out dates. Eligible players may require a club grant him his unconditional release on the following dates: If a player notifies a team in writing by 2 p.m. ET six days prior to the start of the regular season requesting his unconditional release, the club has until noon ET on the fourth day prior to the regular season to add the player to its Opening Day 26-player roster or MLB injured list or grant his unconditional release. A player may do the same, effective on May 1, by requesting his release by 2 p.m. ET on April 27. The team must either add him to the MLB roster by 2 p.m. ET on May 1 or grant his unconditional release. The final opt-out date is June 1. Players must request by 2 p.m. ET on May 28, and the team must decide by 2 p.m. ET on June 1. Those are the only permitted opt-out dates. Teams and players must not come to any other special covenants.
The retention bonus laid out in the CBA for players who are not added to MLB rosters has been removed from the new CBA.
Tiebreaker Games Removed
Before, the CBA covered service time for players who played in a tiebreaker game (game 163) at the end of the MLB season if such a game was played. Those games have been eliminated in the new CBA.
Luxury Tax Surcharges
The first threshold for luxury tax is:
2022: $250 million
2023: $253 million
2024: $257 million
2025: $261 million
2026: $264 million.
The second threshold for the luxury tax is:
2022: $270 million
2023: $273 million
2024: $277 million
2025: $281 million
2026: $284 million.
The third threshold for the luxury tax is:
2022: $290 million
2023: $293 million
2024: $297 million
2025: $301 million
2026: $304 million.
The third threshold is a new addition in this CBA.
The surcharge rate for a team exceeding the first threshold is 12% on top of the applicable base tax rate for the amount above the first threshold. The surcharge rate for a team exceeding the second threshold is an additional 45% surcharge on top of the base tax rate on the amount above the second threshold. However, if it is a first-time competitive balance tax payer, they will pay a 42.5% surcharge rate. The surcharge rate for a team exceeding the third threshold is an additional 60% surcharge on top of the base tax rate on the amount above the third threshold.
Any team that has an actual club payroll at or above the second surcharge threshold shall have its first draft pick moved back 10 places in the draft order, although if the team’s first pick is among the top six picks, the penalty will apply to the team’s second-highest pick.
Where the Competitive Balance Tax Proceeds Go
The first $3.5 million of luxury tax proceeds shall defray the club’s funding obligations arising from the MLB Players Benefit Plan Agreements. Then 50% of the remaining proceeds shall go to fund contributions to MLBPA players’ individual retirement accounts. The other 50% of remaining proceeds shall fund a commissioner’s discretionary fund. The commissioner can distribute money from this fund to payee clubs that have grown their non-media net local revenue over a multi-year period.
To determine who gets a distribution, the commissioner is to compare the club’s non-media net local growth rate to other payee clubs; the club’s success at reducing the total amount of proceeds it receives under the revenue sharing plan through revenue growth of non-media Net Local Revenue, the club’s total non-media net local revenue compared to its average non-media net local revenue over a five- and 10-year period; the club’s non-media net local revenue in relation to its market score; the club’s total paid attendance in relation to its market score and the club’s long- and short-term efforts to grow its non-media net local revenue.
That preceding paragraph is a very wordy way of saying that the commissioner is to dispense the money to teams who receive revenue sharing who are working to increase attendance, fan engagement and improve the marketing and promotions.
International Events
For any MLB games to be played in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Mexico, the commissioner’s office shall notify the Players Association by July 1 of the preceding year. In the past CBA, it was by April 1. For events in Asia, Europe or Australia, the commissioner’s office will notify the Players Association by May 1 (previously it was March 1) of the preceding year.
In this CBA, each team has to be willing to participate in at least one international event or domestic special event. No team may be selected to participate in more than three international events or domestic special events over the life of the current CBA.
CBA Termination
The current CBA expires on Dec. 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Free Agency For Suspended Players
For players on the restricted, suspended, ineligible, voluntarily retired, military or administrative leave lists, the rules of when they reach free agency remain as they were in the previous CBA. However, a new addition is that players on administrative leave who are in the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy remain on administrative leave until the administrative period expires or the player is reinstated, even if they become eligible for free agency.
Home Run Derby
The commissioner’s office will send a list of eight players to the MLBPA that it desires to participate in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game. New to this CBA is an addition that the Home Run Derby sponsors may weigh in with the commissioner on who they want to request for the Home Run Derby.
The seeding for the Home Run Derby has also been tweaked from what it was in the past CBA. The seeding will be based on home runs hit in the current season through games taking place up to six days before the All-Star Break. Ties will be broken by adding in how many home runs each player hit from June 15 of the previous season. If that doesn’t break the tie, it’s a coin flip to settle it.
Also, new to this CBA is a provision that the commissioner’s office has the right to store Home Run Derby balls in a humidor with a relative humidity set by the Commisioner’s office. The MLBPA will be notified on whether a humidor is used and what the settings are for that humidor if used.
Footwear
Players may use non-standard shoes from approved footwear suppliers. The Commissioner’s Office and the player’s club have to deny proposed footwear designs, but club approval must not be unreasonably withheld.
Joint Treatment Program
Whereas the Joint Treatment Program in past CBAs covered alcohol-related conduct, it now also includes marijuana-related conduct.
Trading International Bonus Pools
Beginning in 2023, teams are once again allowed to trade international bonus pool allotments. No team can acquire more than 60% of its original signing bonus pool. And any signing bonus pool allotments acquired must be in increments of $250,000 unless it is trading the team’s entire remaining bonus pool.
Players must be registered with the Commissioner’s Office by Nov. 1 of the year preceding the signing period to be eligible to sign. By Dec. 1, the Commisioner’s Office will distribute a list of eligible players to sign to all teams.
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