Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement on a 14-year, $500 million extension. It surpasses George Springer’s six-year, $150 million contract as the highest in Blue Jays history.
The Blue Jays have been plagued by Guerrero’s contract problems for years, but when he came to spring training with a deadline of Feb. 18 — the first day of full-squad workouts —as a deadline for negotiations, the spotlight brightened. However, this deal has sparked another type of fear in the MLB.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s Contract Sparks Up the ‘Need for a Salary Cap’ Conversation
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, owners are demanding a salary cap. With the current collective bargaining agreement ending after the 2026 season, players are already preparing for a lockout.
Rosenthal thinks that a work stoppage can be avoided. There are many other ways that the parties might deal with the issue of payroll imbalance, which is a very real one in MLB.
The Guerrero contract is the exact reason why players are so strongly against a rigid cap at the top of the salary range. Elite talent does very well in the open market. Furthermore, a cap system wouldn’t necessarily benefit the middle class. Teams prioritize players in their mid-to-late 20s when offering them big contracts.
Examples include Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed his record $325 million contract for a pitcher starting his age-25 season despite never having thrown a pitch in MLB. Before his age-26 season began, Juan Soto received his $765 million. When Guerrero enters his age-27 season in 2026, his contract will start. Furthermore, deferrals are not included in any of those contracts.
Rosenthal also included Vladdy’s father as an example of how insane the salaries of players have become. Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. played from 1996 to 2011, and his son secured a guarantee that was nearly four times his father’s career earnings. Indeed, just as franchise values continue to skyrocket, so do incomes.
In a business that made $12.1 billion in revenue last season, nobody is going bankrupt —neither owners nor players.
Tensions will only increase if a first baseman receives $500 million without even trying free agency first. However, according to Rosenthal, this was a singular instance. It was a desperate attempt by a franchise to hold onto a superstar that it could not bear to lose.