The 2020 Major League Baseball season remains very much in question over a financial split between the league and its players. MLB just sent out another proposal to the players, one that is expected to be declined on Sunday.
MLB agrees to billion-dollar television deal with Turner Sports
According to Andrew Marchand of the NY Post, MLB has agreed to a huge television deal with Turner Sports that will allow the media company continued access to playoff coverage.
“While MLB and the Players Association squabble over money and the 2020 season, the league has consummated a new billion-dollar deal with Turner Sports to keep a playoff package that includes one of the league championship series on the network,’ the report read.
The exact numbers of the deal are not yet known, but it’s going to blow the current $350 million agreement out of the proverbial ballpark.
MLB and its players remain at odds amid ongoing pandemic
The league has offered up a plan that would include about half of the 162-game regular season schedule with players being paid 70% of their prorated salaries. That would represent less than 40% of what players would earn in a normal season. Needless to say, it’s expected to be declined in a swift manner with players already pushing back against said proposal.
The start of the 2020 MLB season was delayed back in March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the issue at hand is financial more than health related. In reality, it paints both sides in a bad light.
In addition to the pandemic, the worldwide economy has taken a major hit. Here in the United States, the unemployment rate is at its highest level since the Great Depression. Families are struggling putting food on the table. Millionaires and billionaires battling for what amounts as pennies on the dollar is not a great look.
MLB’s billion-dollar agreement with Turner Sports adds yet another layer to this.