Minor League Salaries: Antitrust Act Issues
The minor league salary structure is being challenged. A federal class-action lawsuit Miranda v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, filed Friday, December 5, 2014 alleges that Major League Baseball’s treatment of minor league baseball players runs afoul of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Four former minor league players contend that MLB teams have violated antitrust law by fixing minor league salaries at below-market rates.
The crux of the suit is an allegation relating to the MLB subjecting players to the first-year player draft, forcing the player to negotiate with only one team, as opposed to any of the thirty teams willing to pay for his rights. It is also noted that once drafted by a team, players rights are owned by the drafting team for seven years, prohibiting most minor league players an opportunity to sell their services in a competitive market.
However, one major problem the plaintiffs must overcome is that the United States Supreme Court has previously ruled that MLB is not subject to federal antitrust law. In order for any suit to be successful, the Supreme Court must first revisit MLB’s antitrust exemption. If that exemption should be overturned, Miranda could prove troublesome for MLB as minor league players are not part of the MLB players union, and have agreed to no collective bargaining agreement subjecting them to a first-year player draft.
Find an article further detailing the lawsuit here.