With the current CBA agreement expiring on December 1, Commissioner Rob Manfred has made one thing clear: MLB is not being fair to everyone. And that is exactly what he intends to change in the upcoming negotiations.

“The one thing that they’re the biggest on right now is the lack of competitive balance in the game, and I think that’s going to be the cornerstone issue of the negotiations with the MLBPA,” noted Rob Manfred in an interview with Pat McAfee when asked about what the main goals of the negotiations were.

Every major move in baseball now somehow circles back to the upcoming CBA battle, whether it is payroll spending, luxury taxes, or growing worries around the league’s competitive balance. After Rob Manfred’s recent comments about competitive balance, it is becoming increasingly clear that payroll disparity will sit at the center of the negotiations.

During his recent conversation with Pat McAfee on Wednesday, Manfred pointed out that MLB’s current payroll structure has become unsustainable.

“Our payroll gap from top to bottom is $446M. That’s not a fair fight,” Rob Manfred mentioned while discussing the growing imbalance in MLB.

The commissioner pointed to the postseason record, showing how high-payroll teams have consistently reached deep into the postseason. Those comments have reignited the talks about a possible salary cap and salary floor entering the next CBA.

And the biggest example of all this remains the Los Angeles Dodgers, who continue operating on an entirely different financial level from almost every other team.

According to Spotrac, the Dodgers are projected to spend nearly $476 million this season, including the Luxury Tax, while the Miami Marlins are going to carry out a total payroll of just $69 million. That leaves a massive $406 million difference between the 2 teams sharing the same league structure and postseason dream.

But the Dodgers are not alone at MLB’s financial summit, as the New York Mets continue spending aggressively.

Steve Cohen signed Bo Bichette to a massive 3-year, $126 million deal. And that pushed the Mets’ payroll to $334 million. But even then, the Dodgers are way ahead.

After signing Shohei Ohtani to a massive $700 million deal in 2023, the Dodgers signed many other stars like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Blake Snell to massive contracts. But what actually tipped the scales was the signing of Kyle Tucker.

Tucker signed a 4-year, $240 million deal with LA. After that, the case for a salary cap became stronger than ever.

But Manfred is not only targeting MLB’s biggest spenders in the negotiations.

Many teams continue operating with payrolls that are even lower than a player’s salary.

For example, the Marlins in 2025 had a payroll of around $67 million, while Shohei Ohtani alone was earning $70 million. Even in 2026, 7 teams have a guaranteed payroll of less than $100 million. According to Fangraphs, the Marlins have a payroll of just $74 million while the Cleveland Guardians have a payroll of $85 million.

Per reports, MLB will go after both a salary cap and a mandatory salary floor during the negotiations. From the league’s perspective, forcing low-spending teams toward a respectable payroll could strengthen competition.

But some fans point toward teams like the Milwaukee Brewers whenever payroll disparity discussions begin.

The Brewers consistently reach the postseason with a payroll of not over $150-$160 million. According to Spotrac, during the 2025 season, the Brewers had a payroll of around $121 million, and they made it to the NLCS. But that doesn’t give us the full picture.

When they faced the Dodgers, everything fell apart.

The Dodgers not only swept the NLCS 4-0, but in one of the games, Shohei Ohtani single-handedly beat the Brewers with 3 homers and striking out 10 batters. That reality explains why Manfred called the competitive balance “the cornerstone issue.”

Now, while Rob Manfred is doing interviews, the MLBPA has sent its first formal proposal.

The MLBPA wants some serious changes to the whole payroll structure

The MLB labor battle is already heating up, and both sides are preparing for another exhausting fight. The MLBPA, led by Bruce Meyer, has officially placed its opening demands to the league and the owners.

And judging from the early reactions, these negotiations could become MLB’s biggest storyline for the upcoming years.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the players have asked for a strong salary floor and higher minimum salaries across the league. The union also wants to raise the competitive balance tax thresholds because smaller teams have avoided investing in the roster for many years now.

On Wednesday, the players’ union formally proposed raising the luxury tax threshold to $300 million and penalizing any team that spends less than $150 million on player payroll. With the average MLB payroll around $181 million, the union thinks this is a fair minimum for a team that actually wants to compete.

Right now, the luxury tax threshold is set at $244 million.

In 2025, 6 MLB teams had payrolls below $110 million despite the league producing more revenue every season. The MLBPA believes many teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brewers, have remained profitable, yet have refused to spend heavily, even while rebuilding the roster.

The Pirates lost 86 games in 2025 but still received millions from MLB’s current revenue structure. This has just allowed bigger teams to poach talent with no competition from most of the league.

Other than that, the players also want free agency to start early because stars often have to wait for 6 full seasons before earning a superstar contract.

Juan Soto reached free agency after 7 full seasons before hitting free agency in 2024 when he got that massive $765 million deal.

But the owners continue to ask for a salary cap because contracts and payrolls keep going up exponentially almost every season. The Mets reportedly crossed $420 million in 2025, but still missed the postseason by a mile.

League officials believe stricter payroll could help smaller teams be competitive against the bigger teams. And they also feel that the proposed CBT will imbalance things more.

“We understand their proposals are designed to benefit players. Unfortunately, they do not address and, in fact, exacerbate the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us we must address,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin argued.

“The MLBPA’s proposal would reduce the amount transferred to lower-revenue Clubs, weaken the Competitive Balance Tax, and lead to even more payroll disparity than exists today. For example, under the Union’s proposal, the Dodgers would pay less in luxury tax payments, giving them an additional $70 million to spend on payroll.”

With all this back and forth, the negotiations will likely collapse again. And fans could relive another painful lockout like that of 2022. Are we preparing ourselves for it?