Here is how proposals to start MLB season from the owners and players compare
Major League Players and owners have a starting point for negotiations on playing the 2020 season, which has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday, the players union offered its plan for starting the season, six days after owners made their proposal.
Here is what each side proffered.
Owners
Last week, ESPN reported this was the owners’ proposal:
- An 82-game schedule starting in July
- A 21-day spring training
- A sliding scale of pay for a player’s prorated salary
- Bonuses if postseason games are played
- An expanded playoff with 14 teams instead of 10
Players union
Here is the players’ union proposal, via USA Today:
- A 114-game regular-season
- No reduction of prorated salaries
- Players who qualified as “high risk’’ can sit out and still be paid
- Players who are not “high risk’’ may sit out but without pay
- Two years of expanded playoffs instead of just this season
MLB may defer $100 million in salaries if there is no postseason because of COVID-19. That applies to contracts in excess of $10 million or more. They would be paid, with interest, by November 2022.
Can the players and owners work out those differences? Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweeted this on Sunday night after the players’ proposal was revealed:
