Alex Rodriguez posted a statement on his Twitter account Thursday night to try and backtrack from the appearance that he was pressing for a salary cap in MLB.
During a conference call with reporters on Thursday as he prepares for another season as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball”, Rodriguez made it seem like he was suggesting the league needs a salary cap in order to gain market share and grow.
“The only way it’s going to happen is if they get to the table and say the No. 1 goal, let’s get from $10 to $15 billion and then we’ll split the economics evenly,” Rodriguez said. “But that’s the type of conversation instead of fighting and fighting against each other because there’s too much competition out there right now.”
The takeaway from many was that Rodriguez was pushing for a salary cap. His comments led some to call him a hypocrite, noting that when he was a player, he benefited from the lack of a cap more than anyone else, to the tune of $448 million in career earnings. The criticism is that now that he is on the other side and attempting to buy a team, he now wants to limit player earnings.
But Rodriguez says circumstances are different now and that MLB needs to compete with many other forces for entertainment and viewership compared to 20-30 years ago. That’s why he believes the sides need to collaborate and work together better.
In his statement posted on social media, Rodriguez said he answered a question about the 2021 CBA negotiations honestly, but he never mentioned “salary cap”.
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) July 17, 2020
Whether he mentioned that or not, we have long felt that baseball needs a change to its economics. Too many teams evaluate players in the same way, which has had an effect of limiting the market for many players. There have also been top free agents who go months — or even into the start of the season — before signing. Many teams do not actively try to sign players to win, but instead are content taking their revenue share, keeping salaries low, and profiting. The end result is a worse product for the fans.
A salary cap and salary floor, which would create more of a competitive balance, would likely be the best thing for MLB. Rodriguez is not far off with his comments, even if they would aid his interest as an owner.
