Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a confrontation with commissioner Rob Manfred during a meeting with the team last week, reports ESPN. Harper told Manfred to “get the f— out of our clubhouse” if the commissioner wanted to talk to Phillies players about the possibility of a salary cap. MLB is the only non-capped league among the four major North American sports.
Manfred meets annually with all 30 teams in an effort to improve his relationship with the players. Here’s more on Harper’s exchange with Manfred, via ESPN:
Quiet for the majority of the meeting, Harper, sitting in a chair and holding a bat, eventually grew frustrated and said if MLB were to propose a cap and hold firm to it, players “are not scared to lose 162 games,” sources in the meeting told ESPN. Harper stood up, walked toward the middle of the room, faced up to Manfred and said: “If you want to speak about that, you can get the f— out of our clubhouse.”
Manfred, sources said, responded that he was “not going to get the f— out of here,” saying it was important to talk about threats to MLB’s business and ways to grow the game.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2026. MLB and the 30 owners are expected to again push for a salary cap, something they do every CBA negotiating cycle. Several owners, including new Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein, have spoken publicly about the desire for a salary cap in recent months.
Manfred recently boasted about using his annual meetings with players to discuss the sport’s economics, specifically highlighting the salary discrepancy between the sport’s highest paid players and those making the league minimum. Doing so is a clear tactic intended to drive a wedge into the player ranks, potentially creating discord and support for a salary cap.
The MLB Players Association has long rejected a hard salary cap and will do so again this time around. The question is whether the owners intend to dig in and hold the line, and potentially sacrifice games. MLB has not lost games to a work stoppage since the 1994-95 players’ strike. Manfred has already said he anticipates another lockout.
Baseball’s revenues reached a record $12.1 billion in 2025, which represents a 33% increase over the last 10 years. During that time, the average player salary has increased roughly 18% from $3.82 million to a record $4.66 million in 2024.
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