Pirates fans sound off on future salary cap issues in emphatic response

Pittsburgh Pirates fans aren't the only baseball fan base out there that is unhappy with how ownership treats their favorite ball club. The frustration is only compounded when you have teams like the LA Dodgers and New York Mets, who seemingly have a checkbook full of blank checks they're willing to hand out at a moment's notice. Baseball has long been a sport that doesn't have a salary cap or a salary floor, which makes it unique among other North American professional sports leagues, unlike the NFL or NHL. However, with collective bargaining agreement negotiations quickly approaching in the 2026-2027 offseason, we have decided to poll readers on their opinions on a salary cap/floor and a lockout/strike.

Now, keep in mind this doesn't speak for the entire baseball fan base or the entirety of the Pirates' fan base. Our Twitter/X account is followed by over 17.1 thousand accounts, and less than 1,000 votes were cast in each poll, which obviously doesn't encompass the entirety of baseball or Pirates fans. But this is also likely mostly voted on by a group that was majority Pirates fans. After all, we are a popular Pirates blog. Opinions may change depending on which fan base you'd ask. The polls were also only run on Twitter/X, which again, depending on what website you polled, answers could greatly change.

The first poll that was run was: "Based on the current MLB landscape, would you want to implement a salary cap and/or floor?"

Pirates fans favor salary cap/floor, and would go to great lengths to get it

Unsurprisingly, an overwhelming majority of fans who voted are in favor of a salary cap or salary floor, as 'Yes' received a vote by just over 90% of voters. Baseball salaries have gotten insane over the past few years. In the 2023-2024 offseason, Shohei Ohtani broke the record for the largest contract in baseball history at ten years, $700 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A year later to the day, Juan Soto agreed to a deal with the New York Mets that blew Ohtani's contract out of the water, agreeing to a 13-year contract worth $765 million, the largest in professional sports history.

There are a handful of teams in baseball that probably couldn't offer that much, which is one part of the problem. However the second part of the problem is many teams likely didn't submit a competitive offer to either Ohtani or Soto's camp, or even submit a starter offer in the first place. Chances are, all 30 teams could at least put up a competitive offer. 

There's obviously a huge disparity between the top teams and the bottom teams. The LA Dodgers have nearly $300 million in 2026 commitments right now. There are currently nine teams that have less than $50 million in 2026 commitments. There is even a huge disparity between the very top teams and the very bottom teams. The NY Mets have the second largest amount of 2026 commitments at $203 million, just under $100 million less than the Dodgers. The difference between the tenth-least amount of commitments in 2026, the Washington Nationals at $49 million, is also much greater than the team with the fewest commitments for 2026, the Baltimore Orioles at just $18 million. The disparity only grows larger as you get into 2027, with the Dodgers being the only team with over $300 million tied up in commitments. No other team is even at $180 million.

Baseball is more profitable than ever right now. MLB revenue hit an all-time high of around $12.1 billion in 2024. The Pirates are reportedly one of the most profitable teams in the game as well. While teams can't be competitive 100% of the time every single season, there's no good reason why about half of the league has less than $100 million tied to 2026 commitments, or why half the league currently operates with a payroll under $150 million. 

The second poll that was run was the following:

It is worth noting that a lockout and a strike are two very different things. A lockout is instituted by ownership and MLB management. A strike is started by the players. 

The last time a strike/lockout lasted into the regular season was during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, when regular season baseball came to a halt in August of '94 and lasted until late April '95 because of a player strike. MLB's last work stoppage was during the 2021-2022 offseason when a lockout was instituted. However, this barely affected the season, only causing the regular season and Postseason to extend by about a week later than usual. 

Over 85% of voters said they would be willing to sit out part of, if not all of, a regular season if it meant getting a salary cap or floor. While baseball has had work stoppages that have cut down the regular season, none have ever completely wiped out a whole season. 

This trend shows how fed up Pirates fans are with ownership. Fans would rather sacrifice part of (if not all of) a season if it meant ownership would spend more, or if MLB implemented something so other teams would be forced to spend less. That should be a wake-up call to not just Bob Nutting, but owners of other teams who have caused mostly frustration for their fans.

Unfortunately, a complete work stoppage, at least for some time, seems like a total possibility, whether fans want it or not. Whether or not it affects the regular season remains to be seen. According to MLB PA director Tony Clark in March, he stated, "Unless I am mistaken, the league has come out and said there's going to be a work stoppage."

We shall see if it reaches that point, as the MLB PA may have some changes in leadership happen before a lockout or strike. In March of 2024, MLB players reportedly pressured Clark to fire Deputy Director Bruce Meyer and replace him with Henry Marino. Although it seems like Clark and Meyer will keep their current positions, a work stoppage could cause this topic to be brought back up, especially if players want to avoid one at all costs, yet one still happens.

For what it's worth, owners may also look to try to avoid a work stoppage that lasts into the regular season by any means necessary, which could mean they're more willing to negotiate when it comes to a salary floor. The last work stoppage that lasted into the regular season during the 94-'95 strike seriously damaged MLB's reputation, with both owners and players losing money. League average attendance went from an all-time high of 31,256 fans per game in 1994 to just over 25K in 1995 after the strike ended. It wouldn't be until 2006, just over a decade later, that attendance returned to the 1994 peak. 

MLB also has a good trend going with attendance, and has recovered significantly from seasons like 2020 and 2021, which were hampered by COVID restrictions. Last year, there was an average of 29,373 fans per game, the highest mark since the 2017 season. MLB is currently ahead of the curve compared to this time last season, with an average of 27,148 fans per game so far. The average sat below 27K per game around the same time during May 2024. Remember, it is still early in the year, so families still have kids going to school, and cold weather in the evening has deterred fans of East Coast teams from attending ball games. With attendance trending upward, the way it's rebounded since COVID, and even the current pace towards levels MLB hasn't seen since the mid-2000s, owners may be willing to be more negotiable if MLB PA proposes a salary floor. 

Players may also be willing to be more negotiable when it comes to a salary cap. Average salary dropped slightly every year from 2017 through 2019. It has now gone from just over $4 million in 2019 to just over $4.6 million in 2025. While a salary cap would obviously limit salaries, a salary floor may help balance it out, which is something the MLBPA pushed for early on in CBA negotiations in the 2021-2022 offseason. 

All baseball fans want is a more competitive sport. The fact that fans are going to see the ninth-most losses by a team in the modern era (since 1900) with the 2023 Oakland Athletics, the most losses in the modern era with the 2024 Chicago White Sox, and a team that is on pace to have the most losses by any MLB team during any era of baseball with the 2025 Colorado Rockies is crazy. Three of the worst teams of all time are going to happen in three seasons in a row. Meanwhile, at the same time, the record for the largest contract in the sport's history has been broken two offseasons in a row.

The rich teams are pulling way ahead, while the teams that don't have nearly the same revenue or owners who refuse to spend it are falling behind. With the way attendance, salary, and revenue are trending, as well as previous negotiations, both MLB owners and the MLBPA will likely agree to some form of a salary cap or floor in the next CBA.