“If you look at the entirety of our league, we are by far the most competitive, the strongest football league by far” - Greg Sankey, SEC Commissioner, bristling at the concept the BIG10 might be better at football
🎙 Leading Off
No one told me, but the Major League Baseball Player’s Association and the MLB kicked off labor negotiations ahead of the current CBA expiring at the conclusion of the 2026 season. The forward looking labor uncertainty dominated last offseason’s newswire, but dissipated for a minute once the season kicked off.
Wednesday, the Player’s Union released their List of Demands, or at least what they propose changes in the next CBA iteration. Jeff Passan has more on the details below. I’ve spent three hours musing on his one tweet so I won’t jump to any rash conclusions, but I couldn’t feel more comfortable delivering opinions. Let’s begin:
The Players feel big in their britches. They appear to be asking for everything, including a few stretch proposals, and beating the Owners to the punch by making their position public. Sure, it’s a classic First Offer. They fully understand some items are non-negotiable, some will be ignored, and others they’d be willing to compromise on.
The leverage just might be in the Players’ corner. Baseball’s re-entered a growth moment driven by improved watchability of the actual game. What a concept. Speeding up gameplay, coaxing a bit more batted balls, steals, and defense has delivered more eyeballs. Pair that with ultra-competitive postseasons and Baseball is….Back. Until it disappears in a labor strike. Losing all or most of the 2027 season risks forfeiting the momentum of the last 3 years. The kicker: the League office actively restructured most of their national television deals to expire ahead of 2028. Rob Manfred is negotiating on two fronts: with the Players for a CBA, and with streamers for broadcast deals. He needs to convince the Streaming Conglomerates that baseball is still on the up and up, will definitely exist in 2028, and should command a price premium relative to prior rights deals. Does anyone expect a lockout to exist through 2027 into 2028? No, but owners might want to know the economics of their largest revenue stream before signing up a new CBA. Media partners might want a guarantee they aren’t paying for a compromised product. Either way, the timing of these negotiations seem to favor the Players.
Owners are expected to strategically leak their proposal Thursday. It’s widely accepted that it will include a Salary Cap. And yaknow what? Let em. Let’s get it all out on the table fellas. Waste everyone’s time in May so that we can make progress by October. More for me to write about anyway.
📻 Over The Air
🔗 Tentative 2027 PGA Tour Schedule – (Sports Business Journal), plz read.
🔗 Baseball’s Worst Hitters – (ESPN), plz pinch hit.
🔗 The Giants Never walk - (Fangraphs), plz walk.
📡 JumboTron: Thursday’s Must Watch
All times PST
The Charles Schwab Challenge, 1:00pm Golf Channel
Thunder vs Spurs, 5:30pm Peacock, elimination game
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
🎵 Walkup Song
▶️ For the gulf between players and owners:
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