By Sebastian Duarte, Santa Clara University School of Law
Major League Baseball (MLB) is among the “big four” sports in the United States, recently reaching an all-time high in revenue with $12.1 billion for the 2023-2024 season. CBS Sports, MLB Reports Record $12.1 Billion in Revenues for 2024 Season (Mar. 15, 2024), https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-reports-record-12-1-billion-in-revenues. In recent offseasons, MLB has seen record-setting contracts for generational players, such as Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets and Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Spotrac, MLB Player Salaries & Contract Rankings (2024), https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/rankings (last visited Sept. 5, 2025).
While these stars secured their payday, the average MLB player makes around $5 million per year. ESPN, Study: MLB Average Salary Tops $5 Million for First Time (2023), https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44502095/study-mlb-average-salary-tops-5-million-first. In contrast, players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), the developmental system of the MLB, earn a fraction of that amount. Depending on their placement within the minor leagues, the average MiLB player earns between $20,000 and $37,000 per year, far less than the MLB average. Baseball America, How Much Are Minor League Baseball Players Paid in 2024? (2024), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-much-are-minor-league-baseball-players-paid-in-2024/. Given the extreme disparity between major and minor league earnings and the financial hardship faced by minor leaguers, should MLB raise the salaries for these players to ensure fair compensation, adequate labor protections, and safe living conditions?
Analysis:
Minor League Baseball has long been recognized as providing extremely low wages and challenging living conditions for its players. Historically, many earned as little as $3,480 per year, making it difficult to cover even basic expenses; during the offseason, players were also unpaid. Id. Nearly 90% of professional baseball draftees spend their careers in the minor leagues, working extremely hard in hopes of being called up to the major leagues. SABR, The Chances of a Drafted Baseball Player Making the Major Leagues: A Quantitative Study (2023), https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-chances-of-a-drafted-baseball-player-making-the-major-leagues/. Studies indicate that only about 17% of drafted players ever reach the major leagues, leaving the majority to navigate the rigorous minor league system for years without sufficient financial reward. Id. Top prospects occasionally benefit from large signing bonuses, like 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana, who received nearly $9 million. MLB, 2024 Draft Signings and Bonus Tracker (2024), https://www.mlb.com/news/2024-draft-signings-and-bonus-tracker. However, these instances represent the exception rather than the rule. For most players, financial instability is compounded by long hours, grueling travel schedules, and limited benefits.
Congress addressed MiLB wages directly in the Save America’s Pastime Act (SAPA), which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 2018. Emily R. Savicki, The Save America’s Pastime Act and the Legal Status of Minor League Baseball Players, 90 U. Colo. L. Rev. 959 (2019), https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/lawreview/vol90/iss4/3/. The law required that minor league players be paid a minimum weekly wage of 40 hours times the federal minimum wage. Id. However, SAPA also exempted MiLB players from federal overtime protections, removing the ability to be paid beyond 40 hours a week. Id. Given that minor leaguers often work 60 to 70 hours per week, including practices, games, training sessions, and travel, this exemption leaves them uncompensated for a significant portion of their labor. See Senne v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., 591 F. Supp. 3d 453 (N.D. Cal. 2022).
Courts recognized this reality in Senne, where players successfully argued that they should be classified as employees under wage and hour laws. Id. Despite this classification, SAPA’s carve-out continues to shield MLB from paying MiLB players overtime, perpetuating low overall compensation. The United States average annual income for a full-time worker in 2025 was about $62,000, reflecting a 4.6% increase from 2024. Demand Sage, Average U.S. Income (2025), https://www.demandsage.com/average-us-income/. In comparison, minor league baseball players are earning about $30,000 less per year while working more hours. While there is potential for these MiLB players to earn higher income by making it to the MLB and signing a multi-million dollar contract, both the low percentage of minor leaguers who make it and the difficult living conditions support the need for higher wages during minor league careers.
In response to growing criticism, MLB introduced reforms in 2022 that required major league clubs to provide housing for their affiliate minor league players. Baseball America, Leases No More: MLB Teams Now Responsible for Minor League Housing (2022), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/leases-no-more-mlb-teams-now-responsible-for-minor-league-housing/. MLB and the Minor League Baseball Players Association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that significantly raised minimum salaries, in some cases doubling previous amounts. Id. However, the CBA also included many of SAPA’s limitations, including the lack of overtime protections. Moreover, during the offseason, players are only paid $255 per week, with no pay at all during the “dead period” between December and January. See Baseball America, How Much Are Minor League Baseball Players Paid in 2024? (2024).
Another issue that exacerbates MiLB wage concerns is MLB’s practice of service time manipulation. Under league rules, a player must accumulate 172 days on the major league roster to qualify for one full year of service. See Cronkite News, Service Time Manipulation Debate Rages as MLB Teams Hold Off on Bringing Up Top Prospects (May 17, 2021), https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2021/05/17/service-time-manipulation-debate-rages-as-mlb-teams-hold-off-on-bringing-up-top-prospects/. However, clubs often hold prospects in the minors for at least 16 days during the MLB season, thereby preventing them from reaching a full year of service. This practice allows clubs to delay a player’s free agency eligibility by one year, which in turn delays the player’s ability to sign a larger deal. The tactic is widely criticized as a labor rights issue, as it artificially suppresses wages for talented players who have earned a spot in the majors. As a whole, MiLB players should be paid more due to the insufficient payment they currently receive for their work.
Recommendations:
To address these inequities, MLB should establish a higher minimum salary for MiLB players. By setting a wage floor that reflects both the cost of living and the commitment required by minor leaguers, MLB could mitigate the extreme disparities between major and minor league earnings. Additionally, the CBA should be amended to penalize clubs that manipulate service time. Players should have access to a grievance mechanism allowing them to challenge suspected manipulation before a neutral panel, and findings of service time manipulation should carry fines exceeding the financial benefit of delaying a player’s free agency. Such measures would eliminate the economic incentive for clubs to artificially suppress compensation.
Offseason pay guarantees should also be increased, and compensation should be established for the December-January “dead period.” These measures would provide better financial stability for players and reduce the need for supplemental employment outside of baseball. This also benefits the organizations, as players can commit more time to their craft rather than earning income. Congress should reevaluate SAPA’s overtime exemption, extending protections to minor leaguers who routinely work 60 to 70 hours per week. Finally, the implementation of alternative career programs would help minor leaguers prepare for life after baseball, which becomes a reality for most of these players. Providing both education and professional development resources to minor leaguers ensures that those who do not reach their goal of making it to the major leagues are equipped with skills to secure stable employment. See Baseball America, Minors Have Gotten Younger (and Older) After Re-Organization (2023), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minors-have-gotten-younger-and-older-after-re-organization/. While this recommendation primarily targets post-minor league life, it is worth including because of the high percentage of players who do not make it to play in the big league. Alternative career opportunities should be introduced to these players. Id.
Conclusion:
Although Major League Baseball has made progress in improving conditions for minor league players through housing guarantees and increased salaries, there are still significant legal and economic issues that remain. The Save America’s Pastime Act continues to deny players overtime pay, leaving many uncompensated for substantial hours of labor that exceed national averages. The CBA has raised wages but failed to address offseason pay gaps, which intensifies the difficult living conditions. Service time manipulation artificially delays the fair market and strips minor leaguers of well-earned time and benefits from being on the major league roster. Moreover, as the key players in the system that feeds talent into the MLB, these players deserve to be paid for the grueling effort they exert in their pursuit of making it to the major leagues. Until reforms address these systemic inequities, the pay disparity faced by minor league baseball players will continue to undermine the integrity of baseball’s developmental system.
References
Baseball America, How Much Are Minor League Baseball Players Paid in 2024? (Mar. 15, 2024), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-much-are-minor-league-baseball-players-paid-in-2024/.
Baseball America, Leases No More: MLB Teams Now Responsible for Minor League Housing (Oct. 15, 2022), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/leases-no-more-mlb-teams-now-responsible-for-minor-league-housing/.
Baseball America, Minors Have Gotten Younger (and Older) After Re-Organization (Feb. 28, 2023), https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minors-have-gotten-younger-and-older-after-re-organization/.
CBS Sports, MLB Reports Record $12.1 Billion in Revenues for 2024 Season (Mar. 15, 2024), https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-reports-record-12-1-billion-in-revenues/.
Cronkite News, Service Time Manipulation Debate Rages as MLB Teams Hold Off on Bringing Up Top Prospects (May 17, 2021), https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2021/05/17/service-time-manipulation-debate-rages-as-mlb-teams-hold-off-on-bringing-up-top-prospects/.
Demand Sage, Average U.S. Income (2025), https://www.demandsage.com/average-us-income/.
ESPN, Study: MLB Average Salary Tops $5 Million for First Time (Dec. 21, 2023), https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44502095/study-mlb-average-salary-tops-5-million-first.
Forbes, The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2024 (2024), https://www.forbes.com/lists/athletes/.
Major League Baseball, 2024 Draft Signings and Bonus Tracker (2024), https://www.mlb.com/news/2024-draft-signings-and-bonus-tracker.
SABR, The Chances of a Drafted Baseball Player Making the Major Leagues: A Quantitative Study (2023), https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-chances-of-a-drafted-baseball-player-making-the-major-leagues/.
Emily R. Savicki, The Save America’s Pastime Act and the Legal Status of Minor League Baseball Players, 90 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1151 (2019).
Senne v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., 591 F. Supp. 3d 453 (N.D. Cal. 2022).
Spotrac, Shohei Ohtani MLB Contract (2024), https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/24661/shohei-ohtani/.
