The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players (through their union) and the owners expires at the end of this season – technically, at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1, 2026. The last time the agreement had to be renegotiated, it lead to a 99-day lockout which only narrowly avoided losing games from the 2022 schedule. The upcoming discussions are expected to be even more contentious, with the key issue of a salary cap and floor likely dominating discussions. The owners appear united in their demands for one, and the players’ union seem just as entrenched that this will happen over their dead bodies.
How worried are you about a work stoppage?
It’s reported that the owners have put together a war chest of more than $2 billion to help teams weather any lockout, and it’s generally believed the union are similarly preparing for the long-haul. But will this end up being just protracted saber-rattling, as it was in 2022, with a full schedule still being maintained at the end of the negotiations? Or is this going to lead to the loss of games through industrial action for the first time in over thirty years? If so, how long do you think the lockout will run? Is there a risk we could end up losing the whole season, including the World Series?