Establish a minimum team payroll instead of jerking around with a maximum that only a few teams may exceed.

MLB can still keep a maximum team payroll but the current negotiations between the teams and the players union is wasting too much time, energy and aggravation on the soft "cap". In 2021 only the Los Angeles Dodgers exceeded the $210 million "cap". And number 12 in team pay won the World Series: Atlanta Braves over #3 Houston.

Are Major League Baseball teams in minor league cities preventing baseball? And what about my 2009 idea of a Super League? Saturday, March 5, 2022

2021 MLB: (Average Pay is team total divided by 25, the roster size)

	Tm	Est. Payroll ▼	Average Pay	Attendance	Attend/G
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	$256,875,001	10,275,000	2,804,693	34,626
2	New York Yankees	$208,549,047	8,341,962	1,959,854	24,196
3	Houston Astros	$190,500,000	7,620,000	2,068,509	25,537
4	Los Angeles Angels	$186,888,095	7,475,524	1,515,689	18,484
5	New York Mets	$182,054,667	7,282,187	1,511,926	18,666
6	Philadelphia Phillies	$180,616,462	7,224,658	1,515,890	18,715
7	Washington Nationals	$170,570,147	6,822,806	1,465,543	18,093
8	St. Louis Cardinals	$155,329,667	6,213,187	2,102,530	25,957
9	Boston Red Sox	$154,445,000	6,177,800	1,725,323	21,300
10	San Francisco Giants	$149,922,778	5,996,911	1,679,484	20,734
11	Chicago Cubs	$141,493,000	5,659,720	1,978,934	24,431
12	Atlanta Braves	$127,230,000	5,089,200	2,300,247	28,753
13	San Diego Padres	$121,717,619	4,868,705	2,191,950	27,061
14	Minnesota Twins	$120,158,333	4,806,333	1,310,199	16,175
15	Toronto Blue Jays	$118,573,571	4,742,943	805,901	10,074
16	Cincinnati Reds	$115,634,881	4,625,395	1,505,024	18,581
17	Chicago White Sox	$114,396,333	4,575,853	1,596,385	19,708
18	Milwaukee Brewers	$97,676,626	3,907,065	1,824,282	22,522
19	Oakland Athletics	$92,685,334	3,707,413	701,430	8,660
20	Colorado Rockies	$90,775,000	3,631,000	1,938,645	23,934
21	Kansas City Royals	$85,670,000	3,426,800	1,159,613	14,316
22	Arizona Diamondbacks	$77,691,667	3,107,667	1,043,010	12,877
23	Detroit Tigers	$72,295,000	2,891,800	1,102,621	13,613
24	Seattle Mariners	$64,135,000	2,565,400	1,215,985	15,012
25	Tampa Bay Rays	$63,566,666	2,542,667	761,072	9,396
26	Texas Rangers	$55,249,999	2,210,000	2,110,258	26,053
27	Cleveland Indians	$49,055,000	1,962,200	1,114,368	13,758
28	Pittsburgh Pirates	$48,955,000	1,958,200	859,498	10,611
29	Baltimore Orioles	$42,075,000	1,683,000	793,229	9,793
30	Miami Marlins	$32,000,000	1,280,000	642,617	7,934

Thirteen of the 30 teams had team payroll less than $100 million. Four had less than half that. One less than a third. What the heck?

The current minimum individual salary is $570,000. The owners are offering to increase that to $700,000. The players want $725,000. They are jerking around over that. Oh, and meal money. No joke. Meal money. Who even thought that players were still getting meal money. If it were completely eliminated, would players go hungry?

Using the minimums for 25 players, we get team minimums:

roster	individual	team
25	$570,000	$14,250,000
25	$700,000	$17,500,000
25	$725,000	$18,125,000

So recently resigned Derek Jeter was paying his Miami Marlins players $32 million when the theoretical minimum was $14.25 million.

Focus. Somebody. Anybody. Please.