MILWAUKEE — The Brewers and Rays open the World Series on Friday night with a labor fight hanging over the sport: if owners and players cannot agree on a new contract, these could be the final big league games for months.
The current five-year collective bargaining agreement runs out Dec. 1. Owners want a salary cap, the players union has vowed it will never accept one, and a lockout could begin as soon as Dec. 2, putting 2027 games at risk.
Under the league’s plan, no club could spend more than $245.3 million in 2027 and every club would have to spend at least $171.2 million. The figures use luxury-tax payroll math, which counts benefits, and the 2026 tax threshold is $244 million. The league says players would get half of baseball revenue and that eight clubs, including the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees, would need to cut a combined $578 million, while 12 others, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay among them, would need to add $617 million.
The proposal would also limit any one player to 15% of team payroll and hold free-agent deals to $265 million over six years, a fraction of the record contract the Mets gave Juan Soto. Players argue that the way owners would count expenses means management would end up with a bigger slice of revenue.
The matchup itself feeds the debate. It is the first World Series since 1991 with both clubs in the lower half of payrolls; Milwaukee ranked 19th and Tampa Bay 25th at the end of August. The Brewers play in the smallest market in the majors and would be the first small-market champion since Kansas City in 2015. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has backed the league proposal, saying it would help lower-payroll teams compete.
At a bargaining session Thursday, owners also proposed letting broadcasts put cameras on catchers.
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