MLBPA increases war chest to $415M ahead of possible lockout - ESPN

The Major League Baseball Players Association is carrying a war chest more than two times larger than it did at the same point ahead of collective bargaining with Major League Baseball in 2021 as it prepares for the possibility of an extended lockout when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Dec. 1.

The union accumulated $415 million in U.S. Treasury Securities, cash and other investments by the end of 2025, according to its LM-2 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, a figure that dwarfs the union's $171 million coming off a COVID-shortened season in 2020 and heading into the previous round of CBA negotiations.

The last CBA expired in December 2021, leading to a lockout that lasted more than three months. Ultimately, Major League Baseball and the union agreed to a new CBA on March 10 to salvage a 162-game season with the start delayed by eight days.

The year-over-year escalation in 2025, from $283.8 million in 2024, included the MLBPA converting a large sum of cash to U.S. Treasury Securities. While the union's cash reserve dropped from $144 million to $37.4 million, its investments in Treasuries — highly liquid and low-risk — jumped from $85.3 million to $222.1 million.

The MLBPA's total assets rose to $519 million from $353 million at the end of 2024; the net assets were $511.5 million.

To help spur growth, players have opted to allow the union to withhold group licensing checks since 2024. Those funds could be delivered to players during a lockout.

The union's lobbying spending also increased drastically in 2025, from $363,034 to $788,486, with two firms on monthly retainers. While a higher volume of state and federal legislation and regulation on a variety of issues, including sports betting and NIL,