Stephen A. Smith convinced MLB salary cap is imminent even after Dodgers lost NLCS to Brewers appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Milwaukee Brewers just swept the big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers out of the National League Championship Series, but Stephen A. Smith is not convinced that changes anything about where the MLB is headed.
On ESPN’s “First Take,” Smith declared that some version of a salary cap is coming while debating the league’s looming labor fight with Jessica Mendoza.
“Let me assure y’all something. It’s gonna be a salary cap. I promise you that,” Smith said. “Now, that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be a hard one. But it’s gonna be some semblance of a salary cap. Make no mistake about it, because you can’t continue to have that discrepancy from the top.”
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.@stephenasmith and @jessmendoza debate whether the MLB will implement a salary cap and what it could mean for the future of baseball. pic.twitter.com/qfIHJ1YJ2H
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 16, 2026
Smith pointed to the gap between the two NLCS opponents as proof. The Dodgers carry a luxury tax payroll of roughly $433 million, while Milwaukee sits around $154.7 million, according to Spotrac figures cited by Forbes.
“I mean, that’s just too much of a discrepancy,” Smith said. “They’re gonna have something in place.”
MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, and owners have already proposed a salary cap and floor. The MLB Players Association has long opposed a cap, and a lockout is widely expected.
Mendoza was more skeptical, suggesting neither side will let the dispute cost an entire season, which could keep a cap off the table.
Smith warned that both sides should tread carefully, arguing that a canceled season would do lasting damage to the sport.
“If the baseball season gets canceled, it’s gonna be virtually impossible to recover,” Smith said. “There are too many options out here in the real world for people to tolerate.” He also took aim at the league’s standing, saying fans are tired of baseball receiving special treatment, including its antitrust exemption.
“What makes y’all so damn special?” Smith said. “Baseball is no longer America’s national pastime the way it used to be.”
Smith added that he wants players to get as much money as possible, but said the gap between stars and young players on cheap deals, such as Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, shows how uneven the current system is.
Milwaukee now heads to its first World Series since 1982. For Smith, though, one underdog run does not change the bigger picture.
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