Do the players still get paid?

[JaxRed]

So if they cancel all or part of the season, do the players on regular contracts get paid? I'm kind of guessing they do. Anyone know?

[DocRed]

ESPN brought that up and didn't have an answer

[Chip R]

Contracts have force majure clauses in them that excuse a party’s inability to perform its obligations under the contract if an unforeseeable event prevents such performance.

Four factors would come into play:

1. The precise language in the force majeure clause
2. Evidence that the force majeure event was unforeseeable
3. Proof of causation between the force majeure event and the resultant non-performance
4. Evidence that the effects of the force majeure event are so severe that contract obligations cannot be performed

The first one is murky because we don't know the clauses in those contracts. I would think it would apply to the next three.

https://www.whiteandwilliams.com/res...ls-Matter.html

[Wonderful Monds]

I’m curious how service time and contract years are gonna work.

[Chip R]

I’m curious how service time and contract years are gonna work.

Good question. Every team would be prudent to wait to see if there's actually going to be a season before making any more cuts. If you cut a guy on your 40 man roster now that burns an option year.

[westofyou]

https://theathletic.com/1671443/2020...h-coronavirus/

Would players be paid for any games they missed?

Financial concerns are trivial in the middle of a pandemic, but a potential issue nonetheless. Players in the past were not paid for games lost to work stoppage. But according to a source, the union in this case would take the position that players would merit their full salaries even in a shorter season; baseball is not a sport with a salary cap, and salaries are not linked to revenues.

An ownership representative emphatically disagreed, saying it would be unrealistic to expect teams to maintain full payrolls while operating without revenue. The official invoked the term force majeure, a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from fulfilling an obligation due to an extraordinary circumstance, an act of God.

The coronavirus certainly fits both descriptions.

[Chip R]

I mentioned upthread that it may cost teams more to play the games in front of empty stadiums than it would to just cancel the games altogether. If there aren't any games you don't have any revenue from attendance and other stuff that goes along with it but you don't have to pay the players either. If you have games with no fans not only do you have to pay the players but you have to pay the people running the stadium(s). No ushers or vendors, of course but you have to pay grounds crew, maintenance workers, clubbies, etc. It may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things but it adds up.

[Redsfaithful]

I mentioned upthread that it may cost teams more to play the games in front of empty stadiums than it would to just cancel the games altogether. If there aren't any games you don't have any revenue from attendance and other stuff that goes along with it but you don't have to pay the players either. If you have games with no fans not only do you have to pay the players but you have to pay the people running the stadium(s). No ushers or vendors, of course but you have to pay grounds crew, maintenance workers, clubbies, etc. It may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things but it adds up.

I think it would come down to whether they make a profit solely off of tv revenue? I'm guessing no for most teams, but in other sports the answer might be different.