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Mets’ Juan Soto has $765 million reasons to put foot down on MLB’s salary cap proposal
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- Mets’ Juan Soto has $765 million reasons to put foot down on MLB’s salary cap proposal
Mets' Juan Soto has $765 million reasons to put foot down on MLB's salary cap proposal appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
MLB's collective bargaining agreement with the MLBPA ends this December. This has led to MLB starting negotiations with the players' union in an attempt to come to an agreement. In their proposal, MLB proposed a salary cap for the first time since 1994.
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Now, New York Mets star Juan Soto , who has the richest contract in baseball history, is pushing back on the idea of a salary cap , per Will Sammon of The Athletic.
"I don't think that's right, to have a cap," Soto said this week. "Baseball is doing great. We've been increasing every year. It's been great for baseball. We are in the best moment in baseball right now in all kinds of ways. Why should we have a cap?"
The salary cap would give a 50-50 split of revenues, leading to a salary floor of $171.2 million in 2027 and a cap of $245.3 million. Soto will make $57.5 million in 2027, which is 23.4 percent of the available cap space. While Soto is an extreme example, there will be trouble for some teams with large cap hits trying to find a way to get under the new cap, if it gets approved.
The Mets' player representative, David Peterson , is also in agreement with Soto.
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"I'd agree with that," Peterson said of Soto's take. "It works in basketball in that way because they don't have as many guys, so you have a lot less guys for the pot to go around. And that's a league where one or two people on the team pretty much sell the team. That's a lot harder to do in baseball."
While the players are against the cap, Glen Caplin, a spokesperson for the league, is giving a compelling argument to have a cap in place.
"The biggest issue we need to solve next to continue to grow the game off the field is fixing the payroll disparity unseen in any other major U.S. sport," Caplin said in a statement. "Ultimately, the game is about hope and competition and too many fans in too many markets have too little hope their team has a fair chance to win. Fans overwhelmingly support a salary cap and floor like in the other leagues."
A salary cap may not guarantee competitive balance. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the largest payroll in 2026 and are one of the best teams in baseball. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays are 28th in payroll and would be below the salary floor, but are also winning. As for the Mets, they are 27-35 on the year, which is last in the NL East. Still, they have the second-largest payroll in the majors. So maybe a salary cap is not the issue for the Mets, but it is for Soto.
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