MLB is proposing to trim the regular season to 154 games beginning in 2029, a move presented as part of negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement. Baseball last played 154-game slates from 1904 to 1960, aside from war-shortened seasons in 1918 and 1919. For the past 66 years, 162 games has been the default, even though some seasons have ended up shorter. In a statement, MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said cutting eight games is "good for player health, while also creating a new national broadcast window to showcase our most exciting teams and players," adding, "A shorter regular season unlocks making October even better for our fans - with fewer weekday afternoon games, a longer Division Series, and more opportunities to see the game's best pitchers on the biggest stage."
The league also wants to lock in Mondays as an exclusive national broadcast slot with one or two games to "increase national exposure for the sport." MLB says a Monday-only package could be sold to a streaming platform aiming to boost subscribers and ad revenue. Teams not selected for the Monday national window would have Monday as an off-day; teams that do take part on Monday would instead get Thursday as their off-day.
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MLB's plan includes expanding the Division Series to best of seven from best of five. The plan would also let the higher seeds pick which lower seed they face in the wild card round as well as in the Division Series.
Here is the catch: the league tied all of this to adopting a salary cap in the next CBA, which expires Dec. 1 after this season's World Series. Among major American sports leagues, MLB alone operates without a cap, and past attempts to secure union approval have fallen short. An MLB spokesperson said Thursday's proposed changes depend on agreeing to a cap and a salary floor that would require teams to spend at least a set amount on players. The MLBPA responded that the league "once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players' agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals," while adding, "Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table."
Fewer games means a different revenue split for everyone involved. Join Market Briefs free and follow the talks.
