As of the 202 MLB season, a new collective bargaining agreement was reached with the Players Association, which significantly benefited rookie ballplayers, since their minimum salary received a considerable increase of 22.7%, which is not significant compared to the large contracts granted to the stars.
This new agreement is a labor win for the players, who held negotiations for three years. Thus, starting this season, the minimum salary was set at US$700,000 per season and will gradually increase to US$780,000 in the 2026 season.
In addition, the new collective bargaining agreement increased the salary cap for franchises to $230 million per team, on an annual basis, to build their rosters and will increase to $244 million in 2026, while teams that exceed this limit will have to pay a luxury tax.
The final negotiations between the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) were extended precisely because there was no satisfactory agreement on the minimum salary issue, as it was the second lowest of the four major U.S. sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL).
How much can an MLB rookie make?
For a player to be considered a rookie in MLB, they must not have exceeded 130 official at-bats or 50 innings pitched, depending on his position. In addition, they must not exceed 45 days on the active roster of a Major League team in previous seasons (without considering the injured list or the time they have been on the expanded rosters as of September 1 of each year).
As of September 1 of each season, teams can expand their rosters from 25 to 40 active players until the end of the regular season with the objective of opening space for these young minor league prospects to begin to develop.
These days do not accumulate for their tally as rookies if they remain on the expanded roster, although their at-bats or innings pitched are counted.
For this reason, there are players who can play a few games each year without exceeding the established limits and, to give an example, have participated in 10 different seasons and still aspire to be ‘Rookie of the Year’.
In the case of salaries, in addition to their base salary, players aspire to incentives such as the Rookie of the Year award, which represents an additional $750,000, while their teams get an additional first round selection in the Draft.
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