Minor League Baseball Players Poised to More Than Double Pay With First Union Contract
"This will truly better the lives of thousands of players and their families," said a former minor league pitcher instrumental to the yearslong organizing effort. "And that is what this fight has always been about."
Major League Baseball and recently unionized minor league players working for MLB team affiliates reached a tentative deal Wednesday on a historic first collective bargaining agreement.
The pending five-year contract is set to more than double the pay of athletes who currently receive poverty wages even though the average MLB team is worth more than $2 billion. It comes just months after the MLB Players Association, the union representing major leaguers, successfully organized highly exploited minor leaguers who are striving to join their ranks into a new collective bargaining unit.
"Nearly a decade of fighting has led to this, and players have achieved what was once thought undoable."
MLB recognized the union's minor league unit in September, paving the way for negotiations that wrapped up on the eve of opening day in the majors and two days before opening day in the minors.
Citing unnamed sources, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday night:
After years of disillusionment among future major leaguers about paltry salaries forcing them to work offseason jobs—and coincidentally on the day a judge approved a $185 million settlement the league will pay players who accused it of violating minimum wage laws—the parties agreed on a deal that went out to a vote among the union's rank and file and that will need to be approved by owners, as well, before it is formalized. The agreement could be announced officially as early as Friday, the first day of games in the minor leagues.
The deal was confirmed by numerous other reports citing league and union sources.
Unlike now, minor leaguers are set to be paid "for most of the offseason as well as spring training, including back pay for this season," according to Passan. He detailed the annual pay increases on social media.
\u201cBREAKING: Minor league baseball players\u2014among the lowest earning workers in America, who are paid as little as $7/hour by billionaire MLB owners\u2014have reached a first union contract that would more than double the pay of all players.\u201d— More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union) 1680143267
In addition to pay hikes, players "emphasized better housing and transportation as a matter of import," Passan reported. "Starting in 2024, those at Triple-A and Double-A will receive their own bedroom, and players with spouses and children will receive special accommodations. In rookie ball, Single-A, and High-A, teams will provide transportation to stadiums, where they'll eat meals provided under rules negotiated by a joint clubhouse nutrition committee."
As More Perfect Union detailed on social media, harsh living conditions on the road between games prompted players to organize for better accommodations and nutrition. Thanks to this effort, MLB began requiring its minor league teams to provide housing to players in 2022. The pending agreement seeks to secure additional improvements.
\u201cIn 2021, a courageous campaign by former and current players forced the league to start offering housing.\n\nhttps://t.co/Yqu2NIK8MR\u201d— More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union) 1680143267
While name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights are currently controlled by MLB, the pending agreement grants full NIL rights to the union, which can use them to strengthen group licensing deals. In addition, it expands players' medical rights, including covering post-injury health expenses for a longer period of time.
"Among those not included in the deal are players at teams' complexes in the Dominican Republic," Passan reported. "The minor league unit of the MLBPA includes only players on teams' domestic rosters—and players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and other foreign countries will still reap the benefits when stateside."
In a concession to owners, "the deal includes the reduction of the maximum Domestic Reserve List, which governs the number of players a team can roster outside of its Dominican Republic complexes, from 180 to 165 starting in 2024," Passan noted. "The union had previously fought MLB's efforts during the lockout last year to reduce the reserve list, which teams had identified as a priority."
Nathan Kalman-Lamb, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, wrote on social media that "Minor League Baseball players were perhaps the single most exploited group of men's athletes in North America other than college basketball and football players."
"Now they have a new (good!) collective agreement," he added. "No better evidence of why college athletes need unions."
"For the those who passed a hat around for diaper money for newborns... This is for you."
Garrett Broshuis, a former minor league pitcher who spearheaded early organizing efforts, celebrated on Twitter.
"This is big," Broshuis wrote. "Nearly a decade of fighting has led to this, and players have achieved what was once thought undoable."
"Is the deal perfect? No, but every negotiation ends in compromise," he continued. "This will truly better the lives of thousands of players and their families. And that is what this fight has always been about."
Broshuis concluded: "For the those who passed a hat around for diaper money for newborns. For those who grinded away at two or even three offseason jobs. For those who skipped breakfast or even lunch to pinch pennies. For those who have [given] up the game not for a lack of talent but for a lack of funds. This is for you."