MLB Players Receiving Lowest Percentage Of League Revenues

Manfred Cites Explosive Growth For Drop In Players' Revenue Percentage

MLB players have been receiving the "lowest percentage of leaguewide revenue in the last few years" when compared to players in the NBA, NFL and NHL, according to a "high-ranking MLB executive, an economist and statistics from the other leagues and unions" cited by Liz Mullen of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The percentage of MLB revenue paid to players in the last five years has dropped from a high of 63% to "as low as" 51%, and more generally from a percentage in the "high 50s to low 60s in the early 2000s." MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred: "We really had explosive revenue growth and you would not expect that salaries would grow at the same time as revenues." MLBPA General Counsel Michael Weiner: "I would agree the number has gone down. ... I would agree that the high was around 2002 and 2003, when we bargained the [CBA]." Weiner added the number "went down for a few years after that. But, by our numbers, the percentage of revenues devoted to player compensation increased in 2007." Stanford Univ. law professor Bill Gould said the MLB numbers are "startling because baseball players have a union that has resisted any form of cap, and the unstated assumption was the percentage of revenues available to players was unlimited." Meanwhile, Mullin reports NFL players, who "have long suffered from the perception that they are represented by the weakest union, are receiving the highest share of league revenue." Under the NFL CBA negotiated in '06, the percentage of league revenue paid to players has jumped from 54% to 59%. And under their respective CBAs, NBA players are guaranteed 57% of basketball-related NBA revenue and NHL players in '07 received 55.6% of hockey-related NHL revenue (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/3 issue).