Steve Cohen has more money than any other owner in baseball. By a lot. So when the guy who can afford to outspend everyone starts talking about a salary cap with a straight face, people pay attention.
The Mets owner recently said he’s a “league-first guy” when asked about the possibility of Major League Baseball instituting a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement. And sure, that sounds nice. But let’s be real about what that actually means for a guy whose payroll could hit $400 million before the season starts.
“I’m going to allow the labor committee to do their thing,” Cohen told the New York Post. “I don’t know how this is going to play out. I’m pretty confident that whatever changes are going to be made will be post-2027. I think we can operate in the way we’re operating through ’27.”
So no, Cohen isn’t exactly pounding the table for a hard cap tomorrow. He’s basically saying the current system works for him through the next few seasons and he’ll deal with the labor stuff when it comes. That’s not nothing. It’s also not a ringing endorsement of the payroll restrictions that small-market teams have been begging for.
The Lockout Everyone Wants to Avoid
Both MLB and the Players Association are trying to get a deal done before the current CBA expires. A lockout would be bad for literally everyone. Fans don’t want it. Players don’t want it. Owners say they don’t want it. But nobody’s exactly rushing to a handshake agreement either.
Cohen said he’s hopeful they can figure things out without a work stoppage. “Maybe there’s no lockout. Maybe they figure it out. I don’t know,” he said. That’s about as definitive as a weather forecast that says “maybe rain, maybe not.”
The salary cap conversation is always complicated in baseball because it’s the only major American sport without one. Instead, the league has the luxury tax, which is basically a soft cap that rich teams like the Mets can easily surpass if they’re willing to write a check. And Cohen has shown he’s very willing to write that check.
What Happens After 2027
The real action probably isn’t happening until the next CBA after this one. Cohen said he believes any significant changes to the competitive balance structure won’t come until after 2027. Which is convenient for a guy who just signed a bunch of massive contracts and wants to get a few years of use out of them before the rules potentially shift under him.
Look, Cohen isn’t stupid. He knows that if a salary cap comes in, it will probably come with a salary floor too. That’s actually something he’s talked about publicly before. A floor would force cheap owners to actually spend money instead of pocketing revenue-sharing checks. And that might be the only way a cap gets through — as a trade-off that helps both sides in different ways.
But for now? Don’t expect the richest owner in baseball to lead the charge for a cap. He’s a league-first guy right up until being a league-first guy gets in the way of his personal checkbook.
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