Four MLB Owners Oppose CBT Increase To $220 Million

Four owners of Major League Baseball teams oppose increasing the competitive balance tax to $220 million, the starting number in MLB’s most recent collective bargaining agreement proposal, according to a new report from The Athletic‘s Evan Drellich.

The teams and owners who oppose the CBT increasing to $220 million are:

• Detroit Tigers owner Chris Ilitch
• Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno
• Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick
• Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini

As many have pointed out, each of these owners’ teams has a value of more than $1 billion. Their net worths total in the hundreds of millions if not the billions.

Three of these four owners (allegedly all but Ilitch) reportedly voted no on approving Mets owner Steve Cohen purchasing the Mets. It’s been believed some owners were opposed to Cohen owning a team because of how much money he’d spend on players. (The unmitigated gall!) A higher CBT would both help the players and owners like Cohen, who are willing to spend more money on their team and not be penalized for it.  Some owners prefer the method of trying to suppress salaries even though revenue continues increasing, or they prefer using the CBT as a de facto salary cap, wanting to institute harsher penalties for those who pass it.

To agree to a new CBA, 23 of 30 owners need to approve of the deal. With just four reportedly opposing where the current CBT is at (in MLB’s latest proposal, at least), MLB can still pass the CBA if the CBT stays where it’s at. However, the MLBPA wants the CBT to start at $238 million in year one and increase over the five years of the agreement. It’s believed that more owners–potentially eight or more–would oppose CBT going any higher than $220 million. That would put the CBA in jeopardy from the owners’ side of things.

Ken Rosenthal reported Friday that the Players Association is working on a counterproposal to MLB’s most recent offer on Tuesday. It’s unknown if the MLBPA will make any changes to its stance on where the CBT should start in 2022, nor is it known when the association will officially make its offer or meet with MLB. It’s “expected soon,” though.

In addition to their offer, the MLBPA is taking strides to assist workers affected by MLB canceling the first two series of the year. In conjunction with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the players announced a $1 million fund for “stadium workers and others who face financial hardship through no fault of their own due to the MLB franchise owners’ lockout.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Players launching $1 million fund for workers affected by MLB owners’ lockout@mlbpa | @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/M2UIxPD4lO

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 4, 2022

Players instituted a similar fund for stadium workers during the 2020 season when games were halted due to COVID-19.

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