Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner joins Dodgers in confirming no owner is immune to salary cap desires

Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on December 1, which means we could be headed for a lockout -- and it may be a long one. One of the main topics centered around the next CBA is the possible implementation of a salary cap. And it seems like the MLB owners are all on board with a salary cap, while the players are opposed to it.

With the likelihood of a long labor war this winter, two owners in the two biggest markets appear to be on the same page in Dodgers' Mark Walter and Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner.

Dodgers owner Mark Walter and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner both want a salary cap

Despite holding the largest payroll in baseball, Walter made comments to the LA Times that indicated he is in favor of a salary cap. This was surprising given the Dodgers' massive spending in recent years.

"Here's what the problem is: Money helps us win. We can't win all the time. We've got to have some parity," Walter told Bill Shakin of the LA Times.

"So we've got to come up with something that will give us some parity."

Steinbrenner and Yankees GM Brian Cashman had their end-of-season press conference earlier in the week, where Steinbrenner was asked if he is in favor of a salary cap.

"Let me put it this way as a member of the labor policy committee," Steinbrenner said. "I helped craft, one of many, the proposals that we have given at the bargaining table, and I support those proposals in their entirety. I mean that's absolutely the case, so that should answer your question."

The Yankees had the third-highest luxury tax payroll in baseball this past season at $336 million behind the Dodgers and New York Mets. The league's owners proposed a hard salary cap of $245.3 million and a floor of $171.2 million beginning in 2027, which includes an evenly split baseball revenue sharing system between the owners and players.

MLB had an 100-day lockout back in the 2021-2022 offseason when the last five-year CBA expired. Luckily, no games were missed that year, and the season was only pushed back by a week. This time around, the owners have proposed a hard salary cap for the first time since 1994 when baseball had a strike.

Although Steinbrenner and Walter own two of the largest spending teams in the two biggest markets, they will be pushing for a salary cap with their fellow owners this offseason. For that, baseball is likely to have a long lockout this winter with the players fighting against a salary cap.

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