{"id":503722,"date":"2026-01-03T05:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/503722\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T05:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:21:18","slug":"mlb-expert-gives-real-reason-clubs-want-hard-cap-and-its-not-dodgers-mets-yankees-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/503722\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Expert Gives REAL Reason Clubs Want Hard Cap, and It’s Not Dodgers, Mets, Yankees Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most assume that if there is an MLB lockout after next season, it will be because the majority of clubs are tired of the massive spending from big market teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>, New York Mets<\/a>, and New York Yankees<\/a>. However, an MLB expert offered up an interesting theory that reveals a very different reason for wanting a cap.<\/p>\n

Many around the game feel there is a financial reckoning coming for MLB this time next year. After the 2026 season, the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Recent CBAs were ratified without much issue, but that is expected to change this time, over a belief that most teams feel the league now needs a hard salary cap.<\/p>\n

There has always been speculation that the same hard cap that is in other pro leagues, like the NFL and NHL, could come to MLB. However, the LA Dodgers have charted historic ground to try and win a third straight championship in 2026. The club will have a $342.1 million payroll<\/a> next season. That will come with a $169 million luxury tax bill. Furthermore, the team has over a billion dollars invested in deferred contracts.<\/p>\n

So, for all the mid and small market teams around the game, which is the majority of MLB, it makes sense to take a hard stance on a hard cap next winter. However, according to nine-year MLB veteran and host of the MayDay podcast, Trevor May, that isn\u2019t the real reason clubs want a hard salary cap in the league.<\/p>\n

Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees Spending Isn\u2019t Why There Will Be an MLB Lockout in 2026?<\/p>\n

According to May, NFL, NBA, and NHL teams benefit from a hard cap because it makes it far easier to accurately predict what a franchise will earn and spend the following year. With that clear-cut information, it allows owners to go to financial institutions and investors to get a valuation, then borrow money based on that number and put it into business ventures outside their team\u2019s ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cMajor league baseball looks at that and says, \u2018I want that. I want to be able to leverage my baseball team franchise value.\u2019 But because they can\u2019t predict their revenue from regional TV because it\u2019s uncertain, and player salaries, they can\u2019t predict revenue or expenses. Before, they couldn\u2019t predict expenses,\u201d May says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He claims that with more and more business owners building wealth around the idea of valuation leveraging, MLB clubs want to do the same long-term. And a hard salary cap would be the best way to do that. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is their motivation, that is why they want, and they are going to frame it to be like, \u2018Fans look, we can\u2019t be competitive because there\u2019s no cap on spending,’\u201d he said. \u201cBut the cap on spending creates that certainty, it doesn\u2019t actually maket he teams run better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\tAfter earning his journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos served as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sucka … More about Jason Burgos<\/a><\/p>\n

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