KC Royals fans should brace for MLB lockout after 2026, warns MLBPA

The 2025 MLB season is almost here, and while Kansas City Royals fans are counting down the days until Opening Day, a dark cloud looms on the horizon — the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) at the end of 2026. Sometimes, these deadlines pass quietly, but Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) executive director Tony Clark isn’t expecting that this time.

"Unless I am mistaken, the league has come out and said there's going to be a work stoppage," Clark reportedly said in early March. "So, I don't think I'm speaking out of school in that regard."

KC Royals fans should get ready for another MLB lockout in coming years.

KC Royals fans should brace for another MLB lockout

Clark was referring to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments from January, when he told The Athletic that offseason lockouts are "actually a positive. The great thing about offseason lockouts is the leverage that exists gets applied between the bargaining parties."

This comes less than five years after the last lockout in 2021, which delayed the start of the 2022 season by a week.

Both Manfred and Clark expect negotiations to begin next spring, though Manfred wants discussions to stay behind closed doors rather than playing out in the media.

“I’m not going to speculate how we’re going to negotiate with the PA. We’re a year away,” Manfred said. “I owe it to the owners to coalesce around our bargaining approach. And quite frankly, I owe it to our fans not to get into this too early. It’s bad enough when you’re doing it and bargaining, and everyone is worried about it. We’re just not there yet.”

One of the biggest flashpoints in the CBA negotiations will be whether MLB implements a salary floor or cap — a common practice in other major American sports but historically opposed by the players' union. The financial disparity between teams, whether in payroll, revenue, or franchise value, has been a major topic this offseason, especially after the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets pushed payroll spending to historic levels.

Clark, however, doesn’t believe a salary cap is the only way to address competitive balance.

“I will say this: There are ways of addressing the system that aren’t salary or cap related or require the restrictions of player salaries as the answer to every one of these questions,” Clark said.

Royals fans are all too familiar with the financial challenges of a small-market team. Kansas City hasn’t ranked in the top half of MLB payrolls this century, despite two World Series appearances in that span. The franchise has never signed a free agent to a nine-figure deal, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s extension was a massive departure from the franchise's historical operation mindset.

With broadcast revenue uncertain and economic factors possibly affecting attendance, MLB and the MLBPA will have a complex fight ahead once negotiations begin. A work stoppage in 2027 isn’t inevitable, but all signs point to a contentious battle that could reshape how teams — especially small-market clubs like the Royals — operate in the future. That dark cloud is coming, whether baseball fans are ready or not.