MLB just received a sharper rebuttal from the players’ association as the negotiations over the next collective bargaining agreement intensify further. The current CBA will expire soon, and the concerns over a potential work stoppage refuse to die down. Just after a few hours of MLB’s new proposal, Bruce Meyer accused small-market team owners of prioritizing profit over wins. 

“The problem is that a lot of those owners choose not to compete,” the MLBPA executive director argued on a Foul Territory interview on Friday. “A lot of those owners are not doing everything they can to put the best team on the field every day and try for every win, and the fans know this.”

Meyer highlighted that owners often claim that they are just listening to what their fans are urging. But in reality, they ignore the fans when they criticize the owners for not competing. He mentioned how the Milwaukee Brewers were the 30th team, market-wise, but still managed to remain in contention and top the division. Even the Tampa Bay Rays remain competitive despite operating in one of the game’s smallest markets. Meyer clearly pointed out intention over limitation. 

“Even under the current system, as you probably know, the lower revenue teams make massive amounts of money,” he added. “And then they’ll go out and tell the public, oh, you know, we can’t afford to compete.”

Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers paid somewhere around $120 million in revenue sharing and $150 million in luxury taxes. Meanwhile, small-market teams received $100-200 million in total shared league money. And Meyer’s biggest argument is that MLB isn’t forcing the owners to show their financial records. It’s allowing the owners to get away with spending low when they can actually afford to be competitive. 

“It’s really an excuse,” Bruce Meyer explained. “And that’s one of the reasons why they want the salary cap so badly. Because the salary cap gives teams the ultimate excuse not to compete.”

His comments came just after MLB proposed a maximum contract length of five years for free agents. That’s why the union, instead of backing a cap, suggests better ways to improve competitive balance in the league. 

Bruce Meyer outlines the MLBPA’s alternative

The Union has already offered some counterproposals to MLB. And the most crucial among them is the “competitive integrity tax.” Instead of penalizing the higher-paying teams, it will target team owners who consistently spend below the payroll threshold. The idea is to push the under-spending teams to have a bigger payroll instead of limiting the ones who spend more aggressively. 

Bruce Meyers also mentioned the loophole regarding revenue sharing that some low-market teams use to spend less. The MLB Players Association suggested that the recipients of the revenue-sharing amounts should be obligated to reinvest the money. And the union’s executive director argued that it will actually encourage winning rather than reward clubs for paying significantly less. 

The players’ association is not in favor of decreasing players’ earnings. That’s why the league’s proposal clashes with them. 

The owners are in favor of a salary cap and restricting the contracts to 5 years (6, in case of rejoining the same club). The MLBPA rejected the proposal, and Meyer earlier mentioned that it would actually reduce player earnings by roughly $500 million a year. 

“It’s a cap on player salaries. Not a cap on the commissioner’s salary. Not a cap on the commissioner’s private jet,” he sharply criticized Rob Manfred’s propositions. 

The current CBA expires at midnight on December 1, 2026. If the two parties fail to reach common ground by then, the entire baseball community is looking at a complete work stoppage.