MLB is postponing Opening Day after owners and players cannot agree on labor deal
Major League Baseball (MLB) is postponing its March 31 Opening Day and canceling the first two series of regular season games, Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday.
The decision comes after owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) could not reach a deal on a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA determines players' terms and conditions of employment.
"We worked hard to avoid an outcome that's bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs," Manfred told reporters. "I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party."
The league has said players would need four weeks of Spring Training before the regular season could begin.
MLB had set a 5 p.m. ET deadline to reach a new CBA, according to MLB.com and other reports.
Both sides were at the negotiating table in Jupiter, Florida, for more than 16 hours on Monday which stretched into the early Tuesday morning hours, per MLB.com. The two sides met again later Tuesday.
MLB.com had reported that "some progress was made" and "there is optimism that the two sides could be nearing an agreement" that would have allowed Opening Day to begin on time.
The league locked out the players on December 2, preventing them from using team facilities and keeping free agents from signing new contracts. The work stoppage stems from disagreements over how to divide up an estimated $11 billion in annual revenue.
Owners say they have been battered by the decline of in-person attendance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and they have pushed to sign a new CBA similar to the most recent one.
Players, meanwhile, have seen their salaries decline in recent years, particularly for non-star players. The union has pushed to change the league's restrictive rules around free agency and cut down on financial penalties for teams that spend heavily.
Spring Training and the exhibition games schedule have already been pushed back and canceled through March 7. Last month, Manfred said missing games would be a "disastrous outcome" for baseball.
CNN has reached out to MLB and MLBPA for comment.
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