The 2026 MLB Lockout Desk
Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, 2026. A lockout is expected the moment it does. This desk tracks the biggest business fight in sports — what each side wants, where the talks stand, and what it means for the 2027 season.
The Hundred-Year War
Our full lockout breakdown — every legal precedent from 1922 forward, the collusion verdicts, the money maneuvers, the charts. This is the reference piece for the whole winter.
Read it →DEC 1, 2026
The current CBA expires. Everything on this desk counts down to — and then past — that date.
Cap vs. floor
Payroll disparity is the argument. Ownership's push for cost certainty meets the union's century-long refusal of a salary cap — and the floor question neither side can dodge.
The 2027 season
The 2021–22 lockout lasted 99 days and the season survived. 1994 did not. Which history repeats is decided at the bargaining table, not the ballpark.
The timeline we're covering
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 1922 | The Supreme Court's Federal Baseball decision hands MLB its antitrust exemption — the legal bedrock under the whole business. (Front Office Blueprint, Episode 1.) |
| 1994–95 | A players' strike cancels the World Series — the cautionary tale every negotiator on both sides grew up with. |
| 2021–22 | Ownership locks the players out for 99 days. A deal lands in time to save the full 162-game season. |
| Dec 1, 2026 | The current CBA expires. A lockout is expected to follow immediately: transactions freeze, team facilities close to players, the business of baseball stops until there's a deal. |
| Feb–Mar 2027 | Spring training and Opening Day become the real deadlines — the calendar pressure that historically forces a deal. |
Start with the primer
The 2026 MLB Lockout: the business fight that could stop baseball
Our introduction to the fight — the money, the history, and the dates that decide whether 2027 starts on time.
Read the article →This desk updates as the story develops. Writers covering labor, law or the business of baseball — the Join the Team page is open.