The wages of minor league baseball players and access to justice

In the world of professional baseball Major League Baseball (‘MLB’) annually generates US$9 billion in revenue. The average Major League salary is nearly US$4 million and some players earn over US$20 million per year. Minor League Baseball (‘MiLB’) is also lucrative and teams can generate millions of revenue. Yet Minor League players are paid as little as US$1,100 per month in Class Rookie and A leagues and as much as US$2,150 per month at the Class AAA level. These players are not paid for training or offseason work and are only paid during the championship seasons.

This research examines the plight of Minor League players in accessing a fair wage or a ‘living’ wage through the use of antitrust law and federal labor law on minimum wages and overtime. There are currently two class actions using both of these areas of law to challenge the Minor League pay system and class actions will be viewed in the context of access to justice.

Researcher

• Matt Nichol