Working the count… no strikes. Major League Baseball players usually get the spotlight, but this week the minor league’s making headlines. The players making up the MLB’s 5.5K-person minor-league system tentatively struck a collective-bargaining agreement with the league, a milestone in baseball history. Players and owners could ratify the five-year deal by as soon as today.
Peanuts to Cracker Jacks: The agreement’s most drastic change is minimum player pay, which will at least double. Season salaries will jump from $4.8K to $19.8K at the lowest level, and from $17.5K to $38.5K at the highest level before the majors.
Strike one: Last year minor leaguers used social media to express disdain about their paychecks and living conditions, with some saying they stayed in cramped apartments with several players sleeping on air mattresses.
Whiff: In July the MLB agreed to pay $185M to settle a federal class-action suit brought by minor leaguers over wage violations.
Bullpen billions… Despite last season’s World Series drawing its second-lowest TV audience ever (and a 99-day player lockout), the MLB hit a revenue record, pulling in a ballpark $10.8B. The league’s national media-rights renewals with Fox, TBS, and Disney’s ESPN brought in $1.8B, a $250M/season boost from previous deals. On the streaming side, new deals with Apple and NBCUniversal’s Peacock brought in an additional $115M. Sponsorship agreements were up too.
You can’t ignore the talent pipeline… In the corporate world, businesses invest heavily in recruiting, internships, and training to keep their talent supply chains healthy. To succeed, the sports world has to do the same. While it's estimated that only 10% of minor leaguers will play in the majors, the 120-team system is the foundation for talent in the highly lucrative league. Players like José Bautista have transitioned from farm-team obscurity to MLB leaders.