Should MLB Implement a Salary Cap, and What Would It Look Like if It
Did?

Dylan Choi

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.036

Title: Should MLB Implement a Salary Cap, and What Would It Look Like if It Did?
Authors: Dylan Choi
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 10 Issue: 10 Publication Date: October 2025 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.036
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Dylan Choi Flintridge Preparatory School,La Cañada, CA, 91011, United States
MLA 8 Choi, Dylan. "Should MLB Implement a Salary Cap, and What Would It Look Like if It Did?" Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2025, pp. 5116-5136, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.036. Accessed Oct. 2025. APA 6 Choi, D. (2025, October). Should MLB Implement a Salary Cap, and What Would It Look Like if It Did? Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5116-5136. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.036 Chicago Choi, Dylan. "Should MLB Implement a Salary Cap, and What Would It Look Like if It Did?" Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 10, no. 10 (October 2025), 5116-5136. Accessed October, 2025. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.036.
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ABSTRACT: The salary cap in worldwide professional sports is a barline set by each league designed to promote competitive fairness and keep team financial spending in check. While many leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NHL all have these salary caps implemented into their leagues, Major League Baseball (MLB), one of the largest and most significant American sports leagues, has not implemented one. This paper examines the structure and effectiveness of salary caps across various professional sports leagues, with a primary focus on Major League Baseball (MLB). Salary caps, designed to maintain competitive balance by limiting team spending, are utilized in leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and NHL. However, MLB operates without a salary cap, leading to significant payroll disparities between large teams like the Dodgers and Yankees and smaller teams like the Oakland Athletics. This paper explores many types of salary rules: hard caps, soft caps, and no caps, and analyzes how these models impact competition in sports. Also, it compares MLB's lack of a salary cap to other leagues' structures, discussing key regulations like luxury taxes, foreign player limits, and salary arbitration. The potential for an MLB salary cap is proposed, including how it could be structured and its possible challenges. While a salary cap could reduce competitive imbalances in MLB, the paper also considers the other effects, such as limiting player earnings and team flexibility. Finally, the paper explores broader considerations, highlighting rules and regulations from other sports leagues that could influence the MLB's approach to financial regulation.

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