Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has dismissed claims that minor league players are not paid a living wage, despite most earning between $4,800 and $15,400 annually. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Manfred rejected a question from Yahoo! Sports' Hannah Keyser about whether players deserve a living wage, stating, 'I reject the premise that they're not paying a living wage.'
Manfred, who is reported to earn $17.5 million in 2022 including bonuses, faced immediate criticism from Advocates for Minor Leaguers. The group's director, Harry Marino, said in a statement: 'Most Minor League baseball players work second jobs because their annual salaries are insufficient to make ends meet. The commissioner makes an annual salary of $17.5 million. His suggestion that Minor League pay is acceptable is both callous and false.'
Manfred's comments come as the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked him to justify the sport's antitrust exemption, which critics say has been used to suppress minor league wages. Senators Richard Durbin, Charles Grassley, Richard Blumenthal, and Mike Lee sent a letter requesting a response by July 26, with questions that could lead to proposed legislation limiting the exemption created by a 1922 Supreme Court decision.
The senators also asked about the potential impact of repealing the Save America's Pastime Act, which exempts minor league players from federal minimum wage and overtime laws, and whether the antitrust exemption influenced MLB's decision to cut minor league affiliations from 160 to 120 in 2020. MLB has said it looks forward to providing information on how the exemption provides stability and opportunities.
In a proposed lawsuit settlement filed on Friday, MLB agreed to pay minor leaguers $185 million to settle alleged violations of minimum wage laws, with an estimated 23,000 players potentially sharing the payout.
