The MLB has been criticized for several years regarding the pay for minor league players. Those paying their dues in the minors make hundreds of thousands of dollars less than those making the minimum in the big leagues. However, things might change.
The MLB agreed to a $185 million settlement in the Senne v. MLB lawsuit on Friday. The news was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Passan added that the players involved in the suit would split $120 million. The Athletic's Evan Drellich reports that there were around 20,000 players listed as plaintiffs.
The settlement states that the MLB must “rescind any contractual prohibitions against the MLB clubs paying minor league players wages,” according to court filings.
Prior to this, the MLB had prohibited its teams from paying minor league players during spring training, extended spring training, and instructional league games.
Pay has become a major point of contention in recent years. The MLB minimum salary is $700,000. However, the most a player in Triple-A might make in a single season is $14,000. Down in rookie ball, the highest salary per season is less than $5000.
Former minor league pitcher Simon Rosenblum-Larson wrote a piece for the Washington Post, detailing his experience in the minors. He revealed that his first check was for $550, before taxes and clubhouse dues.
“In the minors, I’ve watched a teammate skip breakfast for a week to make rent. Another slept night after night on an air mattress in the kitchen of a two-bedroom apartment he shared with seven other players,” Rosenblum-Larson wrote.
“One player worked 50-hour weeks in the offseason stocking shelves to support his wife and child and to pay for his training. While a select few players drafted in the top rounds receive substantial signing bonuses, a majority live on poverty-level wages.”
The MLB has not implemented a rule to officially raise the salary of minor leaguers. This ruling, however, could be the first step in that direction.
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