Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred answers questions during an MLB owner’s meeting at the Waldorf Astoria on February 10, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.Julio Aguilar | Getty ImagesFor decades, Major League Baseball has stood alone among the major U.S. sports leagues as the only one without a salary cap.Team owners may test that dynamic at the end of next year.MLB owners as well as Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office have begun privately contemplating what a new league economic structure could look like as the league heads toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with players, according to people familiar with the matter. The league’s current CBA expires on Dec. 1, 2026.MLB officials have discussed adding both a salary cap and a salary floor, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The Major League Baseball Players Association, however, has long been against a salary cap, and the group says its position hasn’t changed.The result is a potential lockout in December of next year when the current CBA expires — one that appears increasingly likely given the opposing positions of both sides.If MLB owners are ultimately successful in forcing through a salary cap, it would end decades of limitless spending that’s led to increasingly disproportionate spending between teams in the league. Critics of the format say the variability results in a competitive imbalance that reduces fan enjoyment and retention of star players in small markets.The remaining three major sports leagues in the U.S. — the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association — all have salary caps. The NHL adopted its cap in 2005. The NFL introduced a cap in 1994, and the NBA has had one since 1984.While MLB maintains a luxury tax and revenue sharing, there’s no formal limit on what teams can spend on a roster.Manfred addressed the issue of a salary cap last week on FS1’s “The Herd.””We do hear a lot about it from fans, particularly in smaller markets,” said Manfred. “But the reality is we’re two years …
