Report: MLB proposes $100M salary floor in CBA negotiations

Major League Baseball introduced a new economic plan Monday in a face-to-face meeting with the MLB Players Association about the collective bargaining agreement, sources told Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The league's proposal reportedly involves a new first tier of the luxury tax, with the threshold set at $180 million, along with a new salary minimum of $100 million.

This would add another level to the current three-tier tax system, and taxation would reportedly begin at 25% for teams spending more than $180 million. Currently, the first luxury-tax threshold is $210 million.

Cash collected from teams paying tax penalties would reportedly help fund lower-spending clubs in reaching the minimum, though it's not clear how this would be implemented or what would happen to a team that fails to reach the floor.

Seven teams - the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Seattle Mariners - entered the 2021 season with payrolls projected to be under $100 million, according to Cot's Contracts.

Nine teams - New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres - had Opening Day payrolls projected to exceed the proposed $180-million threshold.

It's unclear how the MLBPA responded to the proposal.

The current CBA is scheduled to expire on Dec. 1. If the two sides can't reach an agreement ahead of that date, it could trigger a lockout by team owners.