Trump Backs MLB Salary Cap
President Trump Urges MLB to Adopt Salary Cap Amidst Mounting Labor Dispute Concerns
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President Donald Trump sided with MLB team owners on Friday, calling for a salary cap in Major League Baseball. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Wisconsin, Trump said, "If you don't have a salary cap, you don't have a sport... They should have done it a long time ago," according to USA Today.
The comments come at a critical moment. MLB owners formally proposed a hard salary cap of $245.3 million and a salary floor of $171.2 million on May 27, according to Forbes. The players' union rejected it within days. The current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, 2026, and a work stoppage for the 2027 season is now widely expected.
Owners Push Hard Cap After Luxury Tax Fails
For the first time since 1994, MLB owners have put a hard salary cap on the table. Commissioner Rob Manfred argues the current luxury tax system has "failed" to create competitive balance. AP News reported that in 2025, a record nine teams paid the tax, with the total bill topping $400 million. Manfred says the tax has become a "revenue-generating device" rather than a deterrent for big spenders like the Dodgers and Mets.
Under the owners' proposal, 20 of 30 teams would be immediately affected. Eight clubs would have to cut payroll, while 12 would need to add spending, according to Essentially Sports. The cap would set a firm ceiling on what any team could spend on player salaries each season.
Players Call Cap a Half-Billion-Dollar Salary Grab
The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) rejected the proposal on June 1. Interim Executive Director Bruce Meyer called the cap "institutionalized collusion" and a "non-starter." The union estimates the proposal would cost players between $500 million and $617 million in total earnings, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Meyer replaced Tony Clark, who resigned in February 2026 after an internal investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a union employee. Player representative Chris Bassitt pushed back on the owners' competitive-balance argument, telling Forbes that MLB already has better parity than capped leagues like the NFL or NBA. Bassitt said the cap is purely about "suppressing salaries."
1994 Strike Looms Large Over New Dispute
The last time owners pushed for a salary cap, it triggered a 232-day strike in 1994. The World Series was canceled for the first and only time in history. The strike ended only after a court injunction by then-judge Sonia Sotomayor. Owners lost an estimated $580 million, according to SABR. Commissioner Manfred told reporters on June 3 that he fears this dispute could mirror that breakdown.
The MLBPA has never accepted a salary cap in its history, and Meyer has signaled the union has no plans to start now. The Guardian noted that Meyer is known as a "hawk" on labor issues. If no deal is reached by February 2027, analysts expect Spring Training and possibly the regular season to be delayed or canceled.
Trump's Endorsement Adds Political Heat to Talks
Trump's intervention is unusual. No sitting president has taken a public side in an MLB labor dispute in recent memory. Bloomberg reported that Trump framed the issue as one of financial discipline, suggesting owners "can't help themselves" when it comes to spending. Historian Alan Lichtman told The Athletic that Trump's move aligns with a long "hostility to unionization" and that the President may use the White House as a "bully pulpit" to force a deal.
The MLBPA fired back quickly, saying players are the ones who "create the value" in baseball and that a cap is a "red line" they will not cross. One notable wrinkle: a VoteHub analysis of 434 sampled MLB players found 233 are registered Republicans, meaning Trump is effectively opposing a slice of his own political base, according to Outkick.
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