Sen. Dick Durbin to Introduce Fair Ball Act to Protect Minor League Players

Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) is set to introduce the Fair Ball Act, a legislative proposal aimed at providing greater protections for minor league baseball players by revisiting past legislation that excluded them from wage and hour laws. Sources informed ESPN on Wednesday about this impending bill.

Durbin, a passionate advocate for minor league players and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, aims to repeal the exemption granted by the Save America's Pastime Act (SAPA). This act, which was included in a 2018 spending bill, allowed Major League Baseball (MLB) teams to bypass the Fair Labor Standards Act.

If passed, the Fair Ball Act would ensure that minor league players are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.

Minor league players unionized with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in September 2022 and negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with MLB by March 2023. This agreement significantly improved salaries and benefits after years of sub-minimum wage compensation.

"Workers deserve a fair playing field everywhere -- including in baseball," Durbin said. "Executives at MLB lobbied Congress hard for federal wage and hour law exemptions to avoid legal liability with the 2018 Save America's Pastime Act. While I commend MLB for recognizing the unionization of Minor League Baseball players in 2022, it is time to roll back SAPA in deference to the gains made by that historic unionization. I'm proud to stand with these workers, unions, and the integrity of the sport. I stand ready to pass the Fair Ball Act into law."

MLB declined to comment when contacted by ESPN.

The treatment of minor league players became a focal point in 2014 with a class-action lawsuit where players argued that MLB teams violated labor laws. In response, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky) introduced SAPA in 2016 to exempt MLB teams from paying minimum wage to players, who often earned as little as $1,000 per month and were only paid during the playing season. Although SAPA did not gain traction in Congress, its provisions were included in a 2018 spending bill.


Following the unionization of minor league players, minimum salaries increased, ranging from $19,800 per year for players at team complexes (up from $4,800) to $35,800 at Triple-A (previously $17,500). MLB later agreed to a $185 million settlement in the class-action lawsuit.

"For generations, minor league players' working conditions were indefensible," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said. "This indignity was compounded by the perversely named Save America's Pastime Act -- a law that was enacted to save money, not baseball, by depriving minor leaguers of a minimum wage. By narrowing the act so that it applies only when players are protected by a CBA, the Fair Ball Act is a win not just for minor leaguers, but for the institution of collective bargaining as a whole."

​The reduction of more than 40 minor league teams before the 2021 season and past player treatment continue to resonate. The Fair Ball Act, also supported by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), and Peter Welch (D-Vermont), seeks to prevent MLB from using SAPA as leverage in future negotiations after the minor league agreement expires following the 2027 season.