It is said: “If you love what you do, then you’ll never need to do a single day of work in your entire life.” However, Major League Baseball unfortunately took the old saying a little too serious.
The revelations revealed that MLB was paying a significant underpayment to their minor league players over many years while insisting that the players were “apprentices.” However, it’s clear that the teams of sports can’t treat their players as if they are doing simply recreation.
The Settlement
A win for minor leaguers, MLB made public the settlement of $185 million to players in the minor leagues, both former and current players in violation of the minimum wage law.
After 8 years of bouncing between the courts without trial the settlement finally submitted on July 15th. Still awaiting an approval from a federal judge.
It is estimated that 23,000 participants may end up sharing funds after accounting for legal charges. If the remaining funds are distributed across a multitude of players, the result is … far less than impressive, to say the very least. Once all the work is done, the median payment is likely to be around $5,000 per person.
What brought us to where we are today? In the event of MLB teams earning nearly an entire $9.5 billion in profits by 2021, it’s easy to imagine that there’d have more than enough to give minor league players the living wage. In spite of this, inequality in wealth between major league and minor league players are likely to be awe-inspiring.
The Wealth Disparities of Baseball
In light of a recent contract for labor, the median MLB salary has increased by 5.9 percentage from last year’s. The salary average for the average MLB player has increased to $4.4 million! The minimum salary is $700,000 a year, MLB players do not appear to have an acute cash crunch. It’s not the same of minor league players.
In the span of between 6 and 9 months the lowest salary for minor league players average $4,800 for players who are rookies. The most lucrative salaries range from $14,000 for players in Triple-A. Furthermore, they are not paid in the off-season, as well as during their extensive spring training workouts.
It is important to note that these players do not just play pickup games once or twice every week. They have calculated the length of their days at work is somewhere between 50-60 hours!
This incredibly low salary is made possible by a federal law that exempts minor league athletes from the legal protections provided by federal minimum wage law.
Lawyers fighting for the earning rights of minor league athletes have observed the enormous pressure placed on players who are struggling to earn this, at the very least, minimum salaries. Median salaries for minor leaguers is just $800 lower than that of the U.S. federal poverty level.
What is this saying about the future of Minor League Baseball Players?
Although the $5,000 payment has been a long time in court proceedings to reach realization, the players are hopeful that they will signal a new start for players from minor league baseball.
MLB is working on a revamp of the system for player development. It claims that a important aspect of this reform is improving the conditions and lives of minor leaguers, more than simply providing them with rewards. Furthermore, MLB has rescinded any or all restrictions against minor league players earning compensation outside of their season.
The advocates for minor leaguers have called on Congress to investigate the unfair treatment of these players. They and their advocates insist that travel time that is paid is vital, regardless of whether for training or for games.
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Minor league players making low wages have become the norm in the field. Can this settlement of $185 begin with a change? Find out more about it here!