Sports

MLB gives players' union Sunday deadline to accept new economic proposal before season restart on July 14

Key Points
  • Major League Baseball has officially presented another economic plan to players' union which calls for a 72-game regular season to start on July 14.
  • The MLB players' union has until Sunday to approve the proposal.
A general view during a spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at Champion stadium on March 23, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Julio Aguilar | Getty Images

Major League Baseball officially presented another economic plan to players' union, as it hopes to resume its operations suspended by Covid-19 on July 14.

According to a person familiar with negotiations, MLB has issued a plan that calls for a 72-game regular-season scheduled to begin on July 14, with players earning 70% of their prorated salaries. The salaries can increase to 83% if there is a postseason, bringing the players' revenue to more than $1 billion and an additional to $200 million if the league completes its postseason the individual confirmed.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the privacy of the negotiations.

According to the individual, the proposal does include a Sunday, June 14 deadline for the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to accept the offer.

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The union made its counteroffer on Tuesday, which called for 89 games and players to receive their full prorated salaries the two sides agreed to in March. The proposal came after the union rejected the MLB's 122-game proposal.

In an interview with ESPN, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hinted the team owners wouldn't accept the MLBPA's proposal, saying the offer wasn't "realistic."

"I would prefer to negotiate a new agreement with the MLBPA that gets us more games and resolves the issues that have separated us amicably," Manfred said in the interview, according to the Associated Press. "But at the end of the day, we negotiated for the right in March to start the season on a number of games that we select in these particular circumstances. And if we have to, we'll exercise that right."

Tom Ricketts, chairman and co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, told CNBC's "The Exchange" on May 26 that the MLB projects it will lose $4 billion if games are played without fans. The lost revenue is one of the reasons why the MLB doesn't want to pay players their full prorated salaries for the shortened season.

"That's particularly hard on teams like the Cubs," said Ricketts, adding the "game day activities" account for 70% of MLB's revenue. "In the best case scenario, we're looking at recovering maybe 20% of our total income."

Chicago Cubs co-owner: In best case scenario, we recover 20% of income
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Chicago Cubs co-owner: In best case scenario, we recover 20% of income