The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are reportedly among the MLB teams preparing for a potential lockout. According to a new report, all team owners are building a financial reserve to protect themselves in the event of a work stoppage.
“MLB owners have funded a war chest of around $75M per team to provide financial protection if games are lost due to a work stoppage, per Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman,” Underdog MLB posted on X (@underdogmlb).
This contingency plan is not limited to the Yankees, Red Sox or a handful of franchises, the entire league is reportedly preparing for what could become a lockout that would impact game-related revenue. However, the funds are not intended to cover player salaries, but rather to provide financial stability for ownership groups if operations are disrupted.
Fans react negatively to owners’ emergency fund
Baseball fans were quick to weigh in on the financial emergency fund being prepared by all Major League Baseball team owners and the reaction was far from favorable. Some questioned how owners could be unwilling to pay salaries in the event of a lockout while simultaneously setting aside significant reserve funds.
“Will that money go to stadium/concession workers who will be out of a job because of this lockout? The small people at the bottom like me serving burgers/hot dogs and cleaning up bathrooms all around stadiums. They’re the ones who really suffer when the lockout happens. Last time that happened we got $100 gift card to Albertsons when there was no baseball,” wrote James the Great (@jarmusic23) on X.
For others, it makes little sense that owners are willing to create such a substantial fund when team payrolls are, in comparison, manageable, particularly considering the immense wealth of some franchise owners.
“Guardians Payroll $77.2 million, Guardians ‘lockout war chest’ $75 million, Guardians owner Paul Dolan’s net worth $4.6 BILLION. Someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my baseball team is dying,” wrote James Schiano of Mets’d Up Podcast on X, referencing the Cleveland Guardians and owner Paul Dolan.