Pirates fans only want one thing from MLB salary cap and it's what everybody else supports

Of the four major professional sports leagues, MLB is the only entity without a salary cap. But while the cap is designed to promote competitiveness among all clubs, it's not always successful in doing so without a floor.

A cap will limit how much the richest teams in MLB spend — say, the Dodgers and owner Mark Walter — whereas a well-placed floor will make sure small-market owners like Bob Nutting are forced to spend more on the roster itself.

One cannot succeed without the other, especially in baseball, when owners like Nutting are urged to sell the team for crying poor in spite of their massive egos and net worth.

Nutting is worth $1.1 billion, but he's also a businessman. He didn't get that rich by pouring his money into a bleeding product, and Nutting considers the Pirates a passion project, rather than a capitalist venture. That means the likes of Paul Skenes (and perhaps eventually Konnor Griffin when that nine-year deal runs up) are good as gone without the proper salary cap system in place.

The flawed logic from most baseball fans and pundits is that Pirates fans are doing Nutting's work for him in demanding a salary cap. Critics say Nutting should simply spend more or sell the team entirely. But Nutting won't sell the Pirates unless he's guaranteed to make a significant profit, and few MLB teams are rated among the most expensive organizations in professional sports in part because there is no roster spending limit. This makes it easier to lose money and games.

Owners want a cap to ensure their franchise valuations continue to increase and perhaps one day rival the NBA and NFL. Fans of small-market teams are generally supportive of the cap, albeit for different reasons, as it puts all organizations on a level playing field and eliminates a popular excuse from these billionaires disguised as paupers.

What most of the media is missing is that even Pirates fans understand there is no use for a cap without a floor. The owners' own proposal in the current CBA negotiations includes one, in part because they'd be roasted for leaving it out.

The right floor forces any MLB owner, present or future, to invest in on-field talent. Should that product fail, it won't be from a lack of spending, but rather scouting and player development. These are the traits that ought to determine who makes the postseason, not just the girth of one's wallet and the nerve to ignore a luxury tax system that rarely works.

Pittsburgh sports fans know a salary cap system can work

The NHL introduced its salary cap system following the 2004-05 lockout in hopes of ensuring competitive balance across the league. While we can argue about the results league-wide, it's impossible to ignore that it's worked in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins went from being on the verge of leaving the city entirely to keeping two of the NHL's superstars — Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — around for two decades. That's the exact sort of success the Pirates are hoping for, but isn't possible without a reasonable spending limit in place.

Skenes won't become a free agent until after the 2030 season, while Griffin signed a nine-year contract before the start of the 2026 campaign. Skenes is the more immediate concern, especially with calls for the Pirates to trade him away (however farfetched) as recently as last year's trade deadline.

Ben Cherington did not take those requests seriously, much like Skenes denied reports he would prefer to play for the New York Yankees one day. But even the rumblings of a Skenes trade when he's under team control for the next four years is a sign of a broken system. Nutting and his fellow owners deserve much of the blame for taking a sledgehammer to that once-promising luxury tax system.

Pirates fans would be the first to point Nutting out of a lineup for his crime. The solution is both a cap and floor, as the former would help small-market teams and the latter, their fans.

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