TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis this week signed a new bill into law which exempts minor league baseball players from the state's minimum wage protections. The legislation passed largely along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing.
Minor league players are paid by their teams' MLB affiliates. Already in 2018, a law was passed in U.S. Congress and signed by then-President Donald Trump which exempted MLB teams from the federal minimum wage of $7.15 an hour. The effect of this new state law will be that team owners won't have to honor Florida's minimum wage either.
On the local level, this law may affect players for the Daytona Tortugas, the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
Critics of the bill, titled SB 892, say it will allow billionaire team owners to pay their players less than what it takes to survive. Advocates of it dispute that players would be put into tough situations. "Nobody is starving, no one is barely able to make ends meet," said state Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers), a supporter of the bill. He contested that provided breakfast and housing for players would offset the lower pay.
In better news for the players, a collective bargaining agreement was ratified in March by the MLB Players Association which more than doubles salaries at each level of minor league competition. The lowest levels now receive $19,800 salary, with each promotion leading to a raise up through AAA, where the salary is $35,800.
