Interim MLBPA director Bruce Meyer takes brutal shot at Cleveland Browns when discussing possible salary cap

Somehow, the Cleveland Browns have entered Major League Baseball labor discussions. Not for a good reason, either.

Interim MLBPA Bruce Meyer will have the task of representing the players in labor discussions over the next few months. League owners are expected to push for a salary cap, something baseball has never seen. And to get a point across about how salary caps do not always work, Meyer used the Cleveland Guardians and Browns as examples.

“Salary caps certainly don’t guarantee competitive balance,” Meyer said via Erik Boland of Newsday Sports. “(You’re) very much better off being a Cleveland Guardians fan over the last any number of years than a Cleveland Browns fan.”

The salary cap came into the NFL before the 1994 season. Since then, the Browns have made the playoffs just four times. Only two playoff wins are on the resume, both of which came in the Wild Card Round. Making the AFC Championship game has not been much of a thought for Cleveland. Instead, there have been 17 last-place finishes in the division, including 2025.

Results are a little different when looking at the city’s baseball team. In the same timeline, the now-Guardians have 15 playoff appearances. Multiple deep runs are a sense of pride for Cleveland, making the World Series three times. Still, no championship quite yet. But another three American League Championship Series pop up throughout the years.

The Guardians appear to be contenders for another AL Central in 2026. After being down 15.5 games to the Detroit Tigers last year, they found a way to retain their crown. Getting three in a row would be a first for the franchise since 2016-2018. Others in Cleveland are just hoping the Browns can find a way to improve under first-year head coach Todd Monken.

MLB potentially facing long lockout over salary cap issue

MLB is potentially looking at a lengthy lockout once the 2026 season wraps up. Dec. 1 is one of the key dates, being when the Collective Bargaining Agreement officially expires. Clocks will then begin to tick on owners and the players’ association agreeing to a new one. The risk of losing 2027 regular season games appears to be real.

Meyer should be at the head of all discussions to represent the players. Attempting to get a salary cap into baseball is nothing new when looking at the sport’s history. To this point, owners have not been successful and are looking to break the trend.