Overview

• ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports owners are preparing to press for a hard salary cap despite the possibility of a season‑long lockout in 2027.
• Multiple owners told Passan they believe the only realistic path to a cap could require missing the 2027 season.
• Players plan to refuse cap entreaties and regard continued pursuit as a “declaration of war,” according to Passan’s reporting.
• The current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, creating the window in which the cap fight will unfold.
• Owners have not decided whether to mount their most aggressive cap push since 1994, when the union’s resistance led to the World Series being canceled.