Alex Rodriguez and wife Jennifer Lopez are among those bidding on the Mets. Rodriguez, who had a 22-year career and earned nearly half a billion dollars as a player, could find himself on the other side of the negotiating table.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Rodriguez said that the players should accept a salary cap tied to a revenue-sharing system, as ESPN reports. The three-time MVP said during a conference call, “The only way it’s going to happen is if they get to the table and say the No. 1 goal, let’s get from $10 to $15 billion and then we’ll split the economics evenly. But that’s the type of conversation instead of fighting and fighting against each other because there’s too much competition out there right now.”
The MLB Players Association has successfully fought off ownership’s attempts to implement a salary cap and revenue sharing. It even did so recently as the two sides attempted to come up with a new agreement for the 2020 season to replace the temporary one arrived at in March.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark responded to Rodriguez’s comment in a statement, saying, “Alex benefited as much as anybody from the battles this union fought against owners’ repeated attempts to get a salary cap. Now that he is attempting to become an owner himself his perspective appears to be different. And that perspective does not reflect the best interests of the players.”
Rodriguez could not have earned his half a billion dollars if MLB had a salary cap. Thus, his advocacy for a salary cap looks foolish and hypocritical. He’s pulling the ladder up behind him.
