On Tuesday, Major League Baseball submitted its first proposal to its Players Association for how to compensate players for the 2020 season. While the proposal did not include revenue sharing, MLB's tiered salary structure was not received well by union and, by late Wednesday night, and it appeared to be dead on arrival.
MLBPA alternate rep and Nationals union rep Max Scherzer went to Twitter to say players have "no reason to engage with MLB in any further compensation reductions."
Scherzer added that he believes "MLB's economic strategy would completely change if all documentation were to become public information."
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) May 28, 2020
This came after union representatives discussed MLB's proposal Wednesday.
Lawyers on behalf of the union had previously asked for MLB to submit financial documents that detail the industry’s finances.
The union is preparing to submit their proposal to the league later this week, and according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, they do not plan to make any more salary concessions. They will also ask for a longer schedule, potentially 110 games compared to MLB's proposed 82. That would mean players would receive roughly two-thirds of their original salary rather than half.
In March, the league and union agreed to pay players a prorated portion of the salaries. Under an 82-game proposal, that would mean players would receive about half of their original salaries. Under MLB's tiered salary proposal, players would receive a little less than half of their prorated salaries, according to research done by FanGraphs' Devan Fink.
Both sides knew there was a possibility fans might not be able to attend games this season because of COVID-19 at the time of the March agreement, which included a clause allowing for renewed discussions on the agreement if fans wouldn't be allowed. Owners then said they would lose $640,000 per game if they paid players their prorated salaries without gate receipts. Rob Manfred has said ticket sales account for 40 percent of the league's revenue.
Players received a $170 million advance on their 2020 salaries at that time. If there is no season, that money would not have to be paid back.
MLB hopes to start the regular season by July 4, meaning a deal would need to be struck by June 1. This is set up to be the most important week in baseball's recent history.
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