Written by: Mikey Kirkbride
Major League Baseball’s New Collective Bargaining Agreement
In 2016 the MLB saw record numbers in TV ratings and revenue. Last year it was reported that revenue was up about $500 million from the previous season, and it is expected that when the figures come out, revenue will see a record high, surpassing $10 billion. Every 4-5 years depending on the contract there is a new collective bargaining agreement negotiated between Major League Baseball and the MLB players association. Its main purpose is to set in stone required number of off days, minimum league salary, and season length, among other things. The new 5-year deal was completed approximately three hours before the deadline, and once the deal expires on December 1st 2021 the MLB will have seen uninterrupted labor without lockouts or strikes for 27 straight years, far longer than the NBA or NFL as they both had recent lockouts. 
As seen in the graph above the MLB has seen a steady increase in revenue since 1995, and is expected to reach an all time high in 2016. This revenue is due to an increase in demand in not only the playing of baseball, but also the branding of the game itself. It seems every fan now wants to get their favorite player's jersey, especially now with young phenom players such as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout who are especially popular. Baseball has also seen an increase in younger players as a result to the lower opportunity cost of baseball in terms of safety. As the number of concussions in football continues to increase, parents are looking for different sports for their children to play, one of these would be baseball, and the younger demographic has definitely lead to an increase in baseball’s popularity. 
As seen in the chart above although the number of concussions in football is decreasing, it is still much higher than other sports including baseball. Baseball is actually second lowest on the list. This is causing parents to see that baseball has a lower opportunity cost in terms of safety than other sports, which is leading to its increase in popularity.
Works Cited:
"Breaking Down the MLB's New Collective Bargaining Agreement." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
"Football Not Only Sport Facing Concussion Issues - WOUB Digital." WOUB Digital. N.p., 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
"Major League Baseball Sees Record Revenue." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
It's definitely a positive to see Major League Baseball exhibiting such growth amidst a society where many millennials deem the sport boring. While greed come into play in determining a CBA in most enterprises, the employee relations with the corporate office seems much more productive than that of the NFL. A side effect of the tense relations with Roger Goodell, TV ratings for this market are decreasing, and it seems the greed of Goodell and the NFL will result in a player lockout soon.
ReplyDeleteNow of days it seems that sports are becoming more and more popular as well as becoming a much more influence on the economy. Because sports have always been loved by Americans, we are only seeing that love increase. I think that the MLB and other retail sellers for baseball apparel can keep raising prices for the jerseys, hats, etc because simply people are going to keep buying them. Injuries are becoming a huge risk and issue for many sports these days, but baseball has seemed to continuously stayed the same over time. I never realized that MLB haven’t had a lockout for so long which really proves the success it’s having financially. Not only do fans want to buy apparel for teams, but people that aren’t even really too interested in the sport want to buy these clothes because of the fashion statements. Do you think that the more the people play and the younger people start to get involved with baseball will effect the talent that comes through America? If that does occur then the revenue should only increase because people are going to recognize that and really want to pay attention to the games and players. Overall I thought the piece was good and showed good information within baseball relating to economics. Good job.
ReplyDeleteNick, I think it will affect the talent in a positive way making the MLB better. If more people are playing at a younger age it will give the MLB more options for players once they get older because it means more kids will play in high school, and although the number of kids who play in college won't increase, the skill level of the players will increase because there are more players to choose from, and this will translate to the MLB making it even more popular because the skill level will be higher.
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