John,

This week, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that at least the first two series of baseball’s regular season games have been canceled. But it didn’t have to be this way.

Back in December, the billionaire owners locked out the players even while they could have allowed players access to training facilities. They also could have allowed them to practice and play in Spring Training under the previous union contract.

Now, more than three months into the lock-out, even as players offer concessions to the owners, the owners won’t budge. As the LA Times’ Michael Hiltzik writes:

"Plutocrats are never satisfied with what they have when they think they can get more."[1]

Sign the petition to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred: Don’t let billionaire greed kill America’s pastime. Negotiate in good faith and pay players fairly.

Under the current contract, teams have control over players’ futures for the first 7 years of their career, allowing them to pay young players the minimum MLB salary even while younger players are being utilized more than in the past.[2]

Owners are only offering these players a less than 1.5% annual wage increase, after an initial bump in salary the first year.[1] This is lower than the standard 2% inflation increase offered by many employers.

This comes at a time when the value of teams is going up (except for the Florida Marlins), and as teams rake in significant profits (the Atlanta Braves, one of the few teams owned by a public company, and which has to report its finances, made a 20% profit in 2021―$111 million in profit on $568 million in revenue).[1]

Even the “poorest” of MLB owners―Robert H. Castellini of the Cincinnati Reds―is still worth $400 million and the Reds franchise is now worth an estimated $1.08 billion.[1]

According to new Americans for Tax Fairness research of Forbes data, at least half of the 30 MLB teams are owned by billionaires and their families while the rest are owned by mere multi-millionaires. They were worth a total of $70 billion at the beginning of March. Their wealth grew an astonishing 25% since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago.[3]

It’s unconscionable that these billionaires (and multi-millionaires) are holding the baseball season hostage, punishing players and fans. Sign the petition to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred demanding team owners negotiate in good faith and pay players fairly.

Together, we’re fighting back against billionaire greed and demanding a future that includes all of us.

Thank you,

Maura Quint
Campaign Director
Americans for Tax Fairness

[1] "The rich men who control baseball show they don’t care about fans, again," Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2022

[2] "Don't call the MLB lockout millionaires vs. billionaires. There are far bigger stakes," Yahoo!Sports, March 2, 2022

[3] "Baseball Billionaires," Americans for Tax Fairness, March 3, 2022