Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many sports across the globe have been suspended without any knowledge on when they could potentially be back up and running again. Major League Baseball is one of these sports that has been hit hard by the virus. MLB and the MLBPA are thought to be trying to push hard and find a way of having some sort of 2020 season.
There have been a lot of different ideas thrown into the mix on how they can create some sort of season but with so much uncertainty surrounding the future status of the virus, not a great deal can be done at the moment in time. A plan surrounding player’ finances is one of the topics being discussed as there are many reports suggesting that the league may in fact try to lower salaries if games are played without fans.
Buster Olney, who is the ESPN analyst discussed the situation and talks had between MLB and MLBPA and this is what he said: “Right now, there’s a major disagreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association over what the financial split of the pie would be, if in fact baseball comes back. This is an increasing concern both to management officials and to agents I’ve spoken with. Agent Scott Boras has argued that the 2020 contracts should be honored, that would be on a pro-rated basis if baseball comes back”.
Members of the MLBPA, including the chief, have already stated that players are not planning on taking pay cuts and the negotiations of that topic are over. Which suggests that we expect all players to be paid in full.
Some laws have been put into place already. The MLB and MLBPA did come to some agreement over the last few months in regard to the virus and how it might affect the season and players. This agreement states that players should receive the prorated proportion of their salary in 2020. So, the amount they earn will be down to the amount of games they play. If half the games go ahead, then they get half of their salary.
All players and league want to try and make some sort of season happen. They understand that it is not so easy, however they are going to try their best to make something happen even if it means that the league has to begin without any fans turning up to watch them play. The games could potentially go ahead behind closed doors, meaning that as fans we can only watch from our TV screens. Whatever they decide to do it is for the safety of themselves and also others. There is a lot of uncertainty about the virus and it is important we take the right precautions, especially those in the spotlight who are meant to be role models and set examples for the rest of the world.