4 ms·
>receiving meager pay; reportedly as little as US$2 ($58 today) per game It is both interesting and frustrating to note how little those salaries have increase
by slg 4y ago
>receiving meager pay; reportedly as little as US$2 ($58 today) per game
It is both interesting and frustrating to note how little those salaries have increased over time. That inflation adjusted number of $58 per game that is described as "meager pay" would exceed the minimum of $290 per week for MLB affiliated minor league players as of 2020. After pressure, MLB recently raised it to $400 which works out to $67 a game if we assume 6 games a week. Still well below minimum wage if we consider the actual time investment that these people make.
This is all because of the antitrust exemption that the Supreme Court granted MLB in 1922 which has yet to be overturned. Since then, there has been one carve out for the antitrust exemption for major league players, which is why they make millions and minor league players still make that same "meager pay". It is a good lesson in the power of antitrust regulations and collective bargaining.
- OJFord 4y agoI'm not in the US and don't follow baseball, so I don't know, but it sounds to me more like a reflection of people 'caring about'/following/paying for the major league disproportionately more than minor ones? I don't think it's unusual in sports to have relatively little ground between amateur and superstar. Sort of also makes sense (if you think massive 'superstar' salaries are a given) in that the best are generally going to be quite young, highly talented players; so it's not like you have a long career progression's worth of salaries from 30k to 30M to work through.
- slg 4y agoYes, people care more about the major leagues than the minors, but people are still paying to see minor league baseball and it still makes money. Also practically every player in the majors was at one point in the minors, usually for 3+ years for even the best players. I'm also not suggesting that minor league players need to make millions, but there was literally an act of Congress passed a few years ago to allow these people to be paid below minimum wage[1]. How is that in any way fair? It is abusive monopolistic behavior and I don't think there is much validity to any argument otherwise. [1] - https://apnews.com/article/minor-league-baseball-lawsuits-ap-top-news-government-spending-laws-cb183f59e88948e8b9cd49ad07bde807 https://apnews.com/article/minor-league-baseball-lawsuits-ap...
- slg 4y agoCoincidently a couple of hours after this comment, MLB reached a $185m class-action settlement with minor league players over unpaid wages[1]. [1] - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-16/mlb-agrees-to-pay-185-million-to-settle-minor-league-wage-suit https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-16/mlb-agree...