Minor league guys get $259m MLB settlement

NEW YORK • Major League Baseball (MLB) has agreed to pay US$185 million (S$258.8 million) as part of a settlement with minor league players who say the league exploits them, knowing they will play for peanuts for a chance to make it to the big show.

The settlement also strikes down an MLB rule that prohibited teams from paying minor leaguers for work beyond the regular season.

That prohibition had been keeping teams from paying players for attending spring training and instruction leagues.

"This settlement is a monumental step for minor league players toward a fair and just compensation system," Garrett Broshuis, the attorney representing the players, said on Friday in a court motion seeking approval of the settlement. The settlement must be approved by a judge.

"As a former minor league baseball player, I've seen first-hand the financial struggle players face while earning poverty-level wages - or no wages at all - in pursuit of their major league dream."

But the settlement will not turn minor leaguers into millionaires, like many of their major league counterparts. In terms of pay, all the accord requires is that the teams comply with laws covering minimum wages and overtime.

According to their lawsuit, players earn US$3,000 to US$7,500 a year in the minor leagues, despite working 50 to 70 hours a week during the five-month season.

By contrast, the average MLB player makes more than US$4 million a year and cannot be paid less than US$700,000, according to a study of baseball contracts by the Associated Press. The New York Mets' Max Scherzer is the best paid at US$43.3 million.

The players filed their class-action lawsuit in 2014 on behalf of minor leaguers of all 30 MLB teams. In their suit, they described the MLB as a "cartel" and accused it of violating federal laws requiring fair wages and overtime.

The MLB rejected the players' claims but also said that it had been planning to raise pay for the minor leaguers.

In 2020, the US Supreme Court rejected the league's request to decertify the class action.

The parties announced in May that they had reached a settlement but did not disclose the terms. "We are only in the second year of a major overhaul of the 100-year-old player development system and have made great strides to improve the quality of life for minor league players," an MLB spokesman said.

"We are pleased we were able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution but are unable to comment on the details until the agreement is formally approved by the court."

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS