Quick answer:
MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, 2026, and a lockout is widely expected. Financing for MLB players is easier to secure while they have active season income than after a lockout stops game checks. Agents and advisors should initiate funding conversations with clients before the 2026 season ends.
When Does the MLB CBA Expire?
MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1, 2026. The agreement was ratified in March 2022 after a 99-day lockout. MLBPA leadership has publicly stated they expect another lockout once this agreement expires, driven primarily by the league’s push for a salary cap, which the union has rejected for decades.
What Happens to Player Income During an MLB Lockout?
A lockout doesn’t stop games already in progress since it takes effect in the offseason. What it does stop is player’s income if the start to the season is delayed: no game checks, no per diem, and historically, delays to free agent and arbitration deals until a new agreement is reached. The 2021-22 lockout lasted 99 days. The next one could run shorter or longer, but the pattern is consistent: once a CBA expires without a deal, player income pauses with no fixed end date.
Why Financing Is Harder to Get After a Lockout Starts
Lenders underwrite against active income and contract status. During the season, a player has both. Once a lockout begins and income stops, the risk profile a lender is assessing changes, and so do approval odds and terms. Waiting until the lockout starts to seek financing means negotiating from the weakest financial position a player will be in during the dispute.
Why Agents and Advisors Should Act Before December 1, 2026
The owners have prepared for this negotiation for years, backed by national broadcast revenue that continues regardless of a work stoppage. Players don’t have the same built-in cushion. Agents and advisors who secure financing for clients now, while players are actively earning, put those clients in a stronger position heading into any potential stoppage.
Action steps for agents and advisors:
Frequently Asked Questions
Will there be an MLB lockout in 2026?
A lockout is widely expected once the CBA expires December 1, 2026, according to statements from MLBPA leadership and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, though it has not been formally announced.
How long did the last MLB lockout last?
The 2021-22 MLB lockout lasted 99 days, from December 2, 2021 to March 10, 2022. It delayed spring training and Opening Day but did not result in any canceled regular season games.
Do MLB players get paid during a lockout?
No. Players do not receive game checks, per diem, or other contractual income during a lockout, since it occurs in the offseason when players are not actively working under the CBA.
Why should agents secure financing before a lockout, not after?
Financing approvals are based on a player’s current income and contract status. Once a lockout stops that income, lenders assess more risk, which can mean harder approvals and less favorable terms.
How can Sure Sports help agents and advisors prepare?
Sure Sports has provided financing to professional athletes since 2009. We work directly with agents and advisors to structure funding around a player’s active contract and season income, ahead of potential work stoppages.
Talk to Sure Sports Before the CBA Deadline
Sure Sports has financed professional athletes since 2009. If you’re advising clients who could be affected by the 2026 MLB work stoppage, the time to start that conversation is now, while your client is still playing.
