The 2026-2027 Major League Baseball offseason is finally underway, as free agency officially opened on Monday, November 2.
But there is one looming issue impacting all free agent negotiations right now: a potential lockout and salary cap for the 2027 season. As MLB tries to implement a salary cap, its latest proposal features a significant change from its initial proposal.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan shared the latest on MLB’s new CBA proposal, which reveals their salary cap plan won’t go into effect in 2027, but rather start in 2028 to give teams time to figure out this offseason’s free agency period without worrying about a cap. But that’s not the only change to their salary cap proposal.
MLB proposes new salary cap plan with 2028 start date, new cap and floors
“Major League Baseball proposed postponing the implementation of a salary cap until the 2028 season while still putting into place the other elements of its labor offer for 2027, citing the difficulty of teams navigating free agency amid the current uncertainty,” Passan shared.
This is a huge change in plans for MLB’s CBA proposal, as instead of a salary cap instantly being implemented, they’re willing to not have it kick in until the 2028 MLB season.
But that’s not all the new MLB proposal changed. Initially, MLB’s CBA proposal revealed a $171.2 million floor and a $245.3 million ceiling.
Passan revealed that those numbers changed. “MLB also set new numbers for its proposed cap and floor in 2028. The cap would be $258.2 million while the floor would be $180.2 million.”
MLB’s latest proposal still features a salary cap, but the key difference is that it wouldn’t go into place until 2028, and that the floor is $9 million higher and the ceiling is $12.9 million higher than their initial proposal.
So, as baseball heads for a lockout in December, MLB’s new CBA proposal raised the cap and floor while pushing the implementation of a cap until the 2028 season. It’s a notable change from their prior proposal, as it’s three major changes that favor the players.
However, the MLB Players Union (MLBPA) is likely to shut down any and all proposals from MLB that include a salary cap of any kind. Even though MLB changed some of its proposals, this likely won’t be accepted by the MLBPA this offseason.
But this is still a notable update in this CBA negotiation, as MLB is already adjusting its asks to try and get a salary cap implemented, raising the floor and ceiling while giving teams an extra year to prepare for a salary cap.
