Key Facts

• The five-year labor agreement was reached in March 2022 after a 99-day management lockout.
• The agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026, and MLB is likely to lock out players after it expires.
• The 2027 season is scheduled to begin on March 24.
• Owners want a salary cap, a payroll floor and a limit on how much of a team’s payroll can go to one player.
• Players want broader free agency and salary arbitration rights, a higher major league minimum salary, more revenue sharing and a tax on teams with low payrolls.
• The league and players’ union have negotiated since May but have not found common ground on the main economic issues.
• The article says the sides waited until late February to negotiate economic proposals before reaching the 2022 agreement, and the season start was delayed by one week.