Major League Baseball projects they will lose $640,000 per game over an 82-game season in empty ballparks if they pay players their prorated salaries.
This is according to Ronald Blum of The Association Press, who obtained the presentation the commissioner's office made to the union.
The presentation was dated to May 12 and was the first step in negotiations between the league and union in starting the season. The union has requested financial documents from the league to confirm these figures.
MLB projects players will make 89% of all revenues this season unless players agree to a revenue sharing proposal. The league has proposed a 50-50 split with players this season.
This has been a point of contention between the two parties for decades, with union president Tony Clark calling any season proposal with revenue sharing a non-starter. The belief is that agreeing to revenue sharing will lead to a permanent salary cap.
Agreeing to a 50-50 revenue split would also mean players would have to take another substantial pay cut. This week, 2018 American League Cy Young award winner Blake Snell of the Rays spoke out against the proposal on a livestream:
Here’s Blake Snell discussing MLB’s revenue split proposal this afternoon on Twitch. pic.twitter.com/CCyCai42Aj
— John Flanigan (@jflan816) May 13, 2020
