The One MLBPA CBA Proposal That Could Seriously Impact the Marlins

Among all the proposals that the MLBPA made on Wednesday, this one would have the biggest impact on the Marlins.

Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Major League Baseball Players Association made its first proposal to owners on Tuesday, and one proposal could seriously impact the Miami Marlins.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was among those to report the initial offer. This is the first in what will likely be several exchanged offers between MLBPA and team ownership as they try to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires on Dec. 1. The last time the CBA expired without a deal was in 2021 and a deal wasn’t reached until right before the 2022 season began. The owners locked the players out.

The MLBPA asked for things like a raise in the MLB minimum salary from $780,000 to $1.5 million and an increase in the base competitive balance tax threshold from $240 million to $300 million.

But one proposal is sure to pique the Miami Marlins’ interest. They’ll have to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

The Competitive Integrity Tax

MLBPA Makes Opening Proposals to Benefit All Players & Build Upon Industry Momentum pic.twitter.com/z1RD6EZoRf

— MLBPA (@MLBPA) May 27, 2026

The MLBPA proposed something called the “competitive balance tax.” This would be a tax on teams that spend less than $150 million in payroll. Right now, the Marlins would qualify for the tax, though it’s not clear what that tax would be. ESPN reported it would mirror the CBT for high-spending teams, which would mean low-spending teams would have to pay a tax for the amount below $150 million.

Per Spotrac.com, 13 teams would be eligible for the tax if the system were in place now because their current payrolls are below $150 million. That includes the Marlins, who have the lowest payroll in baseball at $78.8 million. In this system, it could have devastating consequences.

If it mirrors the CBT, the Marlins would owe money that would later be distributed to other teams. Teams that pay over the first line of the CBT must pay a 20% tax on all overages. If the same tax were applied to the Marlins’ current payroll the difference would be approximately $71.2 million and the tax would be $14.24 million.

In a system like this, it would make much more sense for the Marlins to spend to the minimum threshold and avoid the tax, which would theoretically bring in more talent and make the team more competitive. But there isn’t always a correlation between spending and success in baseball.

MLB ownership and its negotiating group are expected to counter with their own initial proposal on Thursday, one that is expected contain a hard cap system that the players have already said they oppose.