MLB Players Have A Good CBT Offer In Place

For months, MLB players complained that the league failed to negotiate in good faith.

And that was true: owners tried to take advantage of the union with low-ball offers that weren’t really serious.

The competitive balance tax (CBT), specifically, was an area in which the league didn’t want to cede any ground.

However, the last few hours have brought a serious, competitive offer by owners regarding the CBT.

Players may or may not like it; they can consider it doesn’t meet their demands, but they can’t say they aren’t negotiating in good faith anymore.

That was true for most of the winter and part of the spring, which is one of the reasons why fans turned against owners, for taking so long to be serious in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks.

MLB Owners Finally Decided To Show Up In The Negotiations’ Table

But they put a good offer on the table yesterday, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

“MLB’s proposal, sources tell me and @Ken_Rosenthal: Luxury tax thresholds: 230, 232, 236, 240, 242 • Prearb pool: 40m, flat over time • Pool counts against CBT (1.33m per team) •Minimum salary: 700, 715, 730, 750, 770,” he tweeted.

MLB’s proposal, sources tell me and @Ken_Rosenthal:

• Luxury tax thresholds: 230, 232, 236, 240, 242⁰
• Prearb pool: 40m, flat over time
• Pool counts against CBT (1.33m per team)
•Minimum salary: 700, 715, 730, 750, 770

(cont’d)

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

The players want the CBT to start at $238 million in 2022 and end in $263 million in 2026, the last year of the CBA.

So, while there is still a gap in their respective views, at least owners are starting to make serious offers.

Perhaps they wanted to play 162 games all along, but their negotiating tactics could have been a lot better if that was the case.

The players are believed to be talking about MLB’s latest offer internally, but a deal definitely seems closer now than a couple of days ago.