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Bracket Yard
Most other major sports leagues have it, but will there ever be an MLB salary cap?
The idea is nothing new in the baseball sphere. In terms of spending on players, there is a clear delineation between the haves and the have-nots. Given that there is no MLB salary cap today, the gap between the top spenders and bottom spenders is wide.
As a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) looms following the 2026 season, there is word that a salary cap – and floor – are in the mix.
To answer whether or not this will ever change, we need to look at a few factors. These include ownership, the players’ union, and if salary directly correlates to success or failure on the field.
MLB Salaries vs. 2024 Performance
The following are the payrolls for each team, broken down by league. 2024 payroll data was sourced from Spotrac.com, cited below.
American League
| Team | Payroll | 2024 Record | Payroll Per Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | $314,741,274 | 94-68 (AL Pennant) | $3,348,311 |
| Houston Astros | $248,559,896 | 88-73 (Div Champ) | $2,824,544 |
| Texas Rangers | $227,545,408 | 78-84 | $2,917,249 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | $219,088,534 | 74-88 | $2,960,656 |
| Boston Red Sox | $188,537,445 | 81-81 | $2,327,623 |
| Los Angeles Angels | $174,189,987 | 63-99 | $2,764,920 |
| Seattle Mariners | $148,953,846 | 85-77 | $1,752,398 |
| Chicago White Sox | $140,497,547 | 41-121 | $3,426,769 |
| Minnesota Twins | $129,330,051 | 82-80 | $1,577,196 |
| Kansas City Royals | $125,470,914 | 86-76 (Wild Card) | $1,458,964 |
| Baltimore Orioles | $110,835,494 | 91-71 (Wild Card) | $1,217,972 |
| Detroit Tigers | $96,971,614 | 86-76 (Wild Card) | $1,127,577 |
| Cleveland Guardians | $94,724,582 | 92-69 (Div Champ) | $1,029,615 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | $89,707,422 | 80-82 | $1,121,343 |
| Oakland Athletics | $62,132,581 | 69-93 | $900,472 |
Disparity between high (NYY) and low (OAK) payroll: $252,608,693
The Yankees did not get a great value per win, relatively speaking, but they did win the pennant. It would be hard to get a worse value than Chicago did, however. The disparity between the Yankees’ and Athletics’ payroll in 2024 was over a quarter of a billion dollars, which was almost the size of the NFL’s salary cap for 2024. Three MLB teams would have been over it, while nine American League teams would have been over $100 million under it.
National League
| Team | Payroll | 2024 Record | Payroll Per Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets | $317,483,315 | 89-73 (Wild Card) | $3,567,228 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | $265,870,208 | 98-64 (WS Champ) | $2,712,961 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | $247,291,271 | 95-67 (Div Champ) | $2,603,066 |
| Atlanta Braves | $236,433,901 | 89-73 (Wild Card) | $2,656,561 |
| Chicago Cubs | $232,067,975 | 83-79 | $2,796,000 |
| San Francisco Giants | $202,384,048 | 80-82 | $2,529,801 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | $179,432,759 | 83-79 | $2,161,840 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | $178,306,829 | 89-73 | $2,003,448 |
| San Diego Padres | $172,855,090 | 93-69 (Wild Card) | $1,858,657 |
| Colorado Rockies | $146,100,965 | 61-101 | $2,395,098 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | $123,393,744 | 93-69 (Div Champ) | $1,326,814 |
| Washington Nationals | $106,445,407 | 71-91 | $1,499,231 |
| Cincinnati Reds | $102,254,855 | 77-85 | $1,327,985 |
| Miami Marlins | $96,590,305 | 62-100 | $1,557,908 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | $84,050,989 | 76-86 | $1,105,934 |
Disparity between high (NYM) and low (PIT) payroll: $233,432,326
The world-champion Dodgers did not have the highest payroll in 2024, for reasons which have been deferred, but spending is just fine if you win. Every National League team spent at least $1.1 million in payroll for each win they got last season.
How the Owners Feel About an MLB Salary Cap
Some sources have reported that the league ownership wants to push not only for a salary cap, but also a floor. (McKeone, 2025) That quarter-billion dollar disparity between the haves and the have-nots might be too much for a few owners. More likely, however, it is owners that are willing to spend some money but can’t keep up with the likes of the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers who want to level the playing field.
This will not be met with love from all owners. The three aforementioned teams, for example, might not enjoy having shackles put on them.
When it comes to a floor, well, you might have the same problem in inverse. There will be owners (and maybe even the Commissioner’s office) who want to see franchises spend more competitively, but there will also be cheapskates – they know who they are – to whom winning might be a secondary focus to the bottom line.
The best thing to say is that when all 30 team ownerships are added together, their collective relationship with the idea of salary caps and floors might be mixed and/or complicated.
How the Players Feel About an MLB Salary Cap
The MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA), the players’ union, would no doubt love the idea of a salary floor. It will encourage franchises that would have otherwise hoarded their pennies into making a splash signing or two, and maybe overpaying for other talent just to meet the minimum requirements. If it makes the players more money, then chances are the MLBPA is for it.
You can therefore imagine that their views on the salary cap are cooler. If it makes the players less money, or otherwise inhibits that from taking place, the MLBPA will not stand for it. Indeed, the union’s position has always been in opposition to a salary cap. (McKeone, 2025)
Major League Baseball is the only Big Four professional sports league without one. The MLBPA, considered a very strong union, is a big reason why. It would take Herculean effort to get the union on-board with one, even if it were very high.
Will the Cap Ever Happen?
First, let’s see what happens with the CBA negotiations, because if they do not go well, there might not be a 2027 season, and then the conversation is moot for now. Chances are these CBA negotiations are going to be a slog, and the salary cap and floor may or may not be a major sticking point.
Suggesting that it will never happen is perhaps a little much. We could all be heads in jars like on Futurama 30 years from now, so you never know what will happen. However, it is very unlikely to be a thing any time soon. That some owners are pushing for it is an interesting development, but moving the players in that direction will take a lot of doing.
The question for some of these teams might not be “do they have the money to spend,” rather, “do they want to spend it?” The American League payroll disparity is a joke, while the National League’s is slightly less of one. When you have a team spending a quarter-billion dollars more than another, questions should be asked. The Yankees have the money and are spending it to win. On the other end, the erstwhile team from Oakland has plenty for some new digs in Las Vegas, but not so much to spend on the players.
It is easy for some fans to point fingers at the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and so forth and say that their big-spending is harming the game, but what of the cheap ownership? Some teams have found a working formula to build a playoff-quality product for less, while other owners and front offices don’t bother. Just as big-name owners do not want the constraints of a salary cap, tightwad owners also do not want a light shined on their frugality in an era of attempted payroll parity.
References
McKeone, L. (2025, April 10). MLB officials reportedly considering salary cap, floor ahead of CBA negotiations. SI. https://www.si.com/mlb/baseball-officials-considering-salary-cap-floor-cba-negotiations
Spotrac. (n.d.). 2024 MLB Team salary Payroll Tracker. spotrac.com. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/_/year/2024/sort/cap_total2
