Elephant Rumblings: A’s to receive revenue sharing again under new CBA

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

This salutation contains more enthusiasm than usual, given that after 99 days of excruciatingly glacial CBA negotiations, the MLB lockout has finally ended! On top of that, the new agreement came with especially good news for the A’s: they will receive revenue sharing once again, report Susan Slusser and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle.

This development isn’t exactly a surprise, as rumor began a couple weeks ago that Oakland might be re-added to the list of revenue sharing recipients. Now it’s official, though how much the organization will receive and how the money will be spent both remain to be seen.

The A’s were phased out of revenue sharing in the 2016 CBA; that year, they received more than $30 million. From there, the revenue share was reduced by 25 percent each year until 2020, when the team stopped receiving the funds altogether.

From 2016 through 2019 the A’s payroll remained near the bottom of the league despite the revenue sharing they received, continuing their long-term reputation as meager spenders. The organization’s thrifty ways even led to the MLBPA filing a grievance against the A’s in 2018, claiming they had not invested revenue sharing funds in improving the on-field product in accordance with the spirit of the arrangement. The league requested that the union drop their grievance in the latest CBA talks, but the players refused — perhaps this continued pressure will prompt the A’s to funnel more shared revenue toward payroll in the future?

Slusser and Kawahara also reported that the revenue share is tied to reaching an agreement by early 2024 to build a new stadium — in Oakland or elsewhere, though there aren’t yet details on the specifics of this clause.

Ideally, the A’s would not need this funding, and hopefully they are on the right track to get off the dole someday in a new stadium. But in the near future, this could provide a nice shot in the arm and help the team rebuild faster — or maybe even hang in there and vie for one of the dozen playoff spots available starting this year.

Baseball is back!!! Have a great weekend, AN.

A’s Coverage:

• Hall: MLB lockout is over!
• Hall: State of the A’s 40-man roster as MLB lockout ends
• Ashford: Get ready for trade season
• Slusser and Kawahara: A’s to be phased back in as revenue-sharing recipient under new CBA ($)
• Shea and Slusser: New MLB labor deal ends lockout; Giants, A’s go back to work ($)
• Berman: What’s next for the A’s with the MLB lockout over? Big trades could be looming on the horizon ($)
• Adams: MLBPA Drops 2020 Grievance Against MLB, Will Not Drop Grievances Against Pirates, A’s, Marlins, Rays
• Bowden: Top 70 remaining MLB free agents: Jim Bowden’s post-lockout cheat sheet ($)
• Shea: Baseball is back, now it’s time for MLB to win back its fans ($)

MLB

• Wagner: Play Ball! Lockout Ends as M.L.B. and Union Strike a Deal ($)
• Drellich: Baseball is back: MLB owners, players complete deal to end lockout; spring training to start in days ($)
• Rosenthal and Drellich: MLB, Players Association agree to CBA; Opening Day set for April 7 ($)
• Adams: MLB, MLBPA Reach New Collective Bargaining Agreement
• Franco: Postseason Expands To 12 Teams; First Round Will Be Three-Game Series
• Franco: New CBA Officially Introduces Universal Designated Hitter
• Polishuk: 2021 Rule 5 Draft Officially Canceled
• Franco: MLB, Players Association Could Expand Active Rosters Early In 2022 Season
• Castrovince: Everything you need to know about ‘22 season
• Polishuk: March 22 Set As New Date For Teams, Players To Exchange Arbitration Figures
• Law: MLB Draft ranking 2022: Keith Law’s top prospects and a rare question — where are the college pitchers? ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Funny because it rings so true.

Highlights of the new CBA

Just 44, way too young. Rest In Power.

FanFest this Saturday!

Needless to say, I am over the moon at having something other than the lockout to write about.

Looks like players can more freely cash in on some of that “bad at math” tax.

IMO2, Melissa.

No more at-bats for Kap.

So many quality tweets yesterday! A celebratory frenzy.