An upcoming raise to minor league player salaries won't push most players past the poverty line.
MLB will raise minimum salaries between 38% and 72%, depending on the minor league level, according to a memo sent to the 30 major league teams obtained by the Associated Press. Rookie and short-season, currently the lowest paid professionals in any organization in baseball, will see their weekly income boost from $290 to $400, while Triple-A minimums will creep up to $700.
However, the raise only impacts the five months out of the year minor leaguers are paid. They aren't paid during spring training, either. Most minor leaguers paid at their respective league's minimum annual salary won't extend beyond $15,400, assuming a 22-week full season.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2020 poverty guidelines set the poverty line for single-person households at $12,760. Even with the raise, most minor leaguers will fall short.
Though top amateur recruits in the U.S. and abroad can receive signing bonuses in the millions, many sign for less than $10,000. Many will never earn more in a single year during their professional careers.
MLB teams are exempt from federal labor laws, allowing them to pay their players less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. They also are ineligible for overtime, despite routinely working six or seven days a week during the season.
The wage increase was announced in the midst of a heated public battle between MLB and MiLB over the future of minor league baseball. The league's proposal promised minor league facility upgrades and income in exchange for cutting 42 teams, including the Staten Island Yankees and Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets). MLB's proposal has attracted bipartisan political attention, from the local congressional districts of respective teams to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
"MLB's priorities include reducing the travel burden on players and improving player working conditions," wrote Morgan Sword, SVP of league economics and operations. "These and other objectives only can be achieved with agreement of the National Association, or absent an agreement, following the expiration of the current PBA in September. However, we can move forward unilaterally with our goal of improving compensation for minor league players."
The pay increase won't take effect until 2021.
