Three-year study proposes $35,000 minimum salary for all minor-league players

A groundbreaking three-year study into the working conditions of minor-league baseball players found that a $35,000 minimum salary would “bring players above the federal poverty line and put them in line with living wage standards,” according to an executive player summary released to The Athletic.

The 17-page report, which also spotlights in-season housing, offseason training and contract length as major issues, was developed by the non-profit More Than Baseball group with data collected in conjunction with Chris McLeod (Professor of Sports Management at the University of Florida) and Nola Agha (Professor of Sport Management at the University of San Francisco) through player interviews, responses to MTB program forums and a 2022 Housing Survey. The report draws on data from more than 800 minor-league players between 2019-22, 83 percent of whom said salary was the biggest change they’d like to see moving forward.

“We are providing minor-league players a platform to set the agenda themselves and define the goals of the movement to improve working conditions in minor-league baseball,” said Simon Rosenblum-Larson, one of MTB’s co-founders, who is currently a right-handed pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. “More Than Baseball will continue pushing until all players are provided the support they need to succeed on and off the baseball field.”

Report available here.