Nearly every MLB owner believes the league requires a salary cap, and they are willing to jeopardize the 2027 season to get one. Owners argue a cap would immediately raise franchise valuations, fix competitive balance, and end the era of teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers spending $500 million annually on players.

"They are ready to burn the f---ing house down," one high-ranking team official said.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, 2026. Owners plan to propose a cap during negotiations and are prepared to hold firm even if it triggers a work stoppage.

The financial disparity driving their position is substantial. Over the past five seasons, the Dodgers and Mets each surpassed $1.7 billion in combined payroll and luxury tax payments. The Athletics spent $347 million over that same period. Pittsburgh spent $356 million. Neither Miami, Tampa Bay, nor Cleveland reached even one quarter of what the top two spenders deployed.

The Dodgers' financial commitment extends beyond payroll. Los Angeles this offseason signed nine players, including Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, for a combined $1.8 billion in guarantees. That figure exceeds the entire 21st-century spending of the Rays, Marlins, Pirates, and Athletics individually.

Players oppose a cap and arrive at the bargaining table with their own data. Milwaukee won the most regular-season games in 2025 with a $117 million payroll ranked 23rd leaguewide. Since 2000, more MLB franchises have claimed championships than in the NFL, NBA, or NHL.

A 2011 study by economists at Middle Tennessee State found no causative relationship between salary caps and competitive balance.

Commissioner Rob Manfred is pursuing a potential middle path. With national broadcast deals expiring after 2028, Manfred is working to nationalize local television rights across all 30 teams, a move that could generate revenue substantial enough to address low-revenue franchises without requiring a cap.

"The only reason I'm confident we're not going to miss games," one team president said, "is because of what TV can do for us."