MLB’s $185M Minor League Settlement: Payouts, Eligibility, and Reforms

The $185 million MLB minor league settlement resolved Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, a class action in which roughly 23,000 to 24,000 current and former minor leaguers accused Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs of paying them below minimum wage and denying overtime for years of offseason work. A federal judge granted final approval on March 29, 2023, and the case became final that July.¹²

What the Players Alleged

Three retired players — Aaron Senne, Michael Liberto, and Oliver Odle — filed the suit in February 2014. They argued that MLB and its clubs violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage laws in California, Florida, and Arizona by failing to pay minor leaguers for overtime and for mandatory work outside the regular season, including spring training, extended spring training, and instructional leagues.³⁴

Players said they routinely worked 50- to 60-hour weeks year-round. MLB countered that they were seasonal workers exempt from certain wage protections.⁵⁶⁷

How the Case Reached a Settlement

The litigation ran eight years. In October 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined MLB’s bid to have the class dismissed. In March 2022, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero ruled that minor league players are “year-round employees” rather than seasonal workers, rejecting a central MLB defense. He awarded the class $1.88 million for non-compliance with California wage laws and wrote that the players were “not students who have enrolled in a vocational school” performing unpaid labor as training.³ With trial three weeks out, the parties agreed to settle on May 10, 2022.⁸

How the $185 Million Was Divided

About $120.2 million of the fund went to direct payments to players. The remainder covered legal fees and administration.⁵ The court-approved breakdown:

Attorneys’ fees: $55.5 million.
Litigation costs: about $4.65 million.
Settlement administration: $995,000.
Class representative payments: $15,000 each for 40 individuals, totaling $600,000.
Named plaintiff payments: $7,500 each for five individuals, totaling $37,500.
California Labor and Workforce Development Agency: about $1.7 million.

Individual players were estimated to receive between $5,000 and $5,500 before taxes.¹ The fund represented roughly 89% of the total unpaid wages the class had claimed.⁴ MLB had until July 27, 2023, to fully fund the settlement, and payments to players were scheduled to go out by mid-August 2023.²

Who Qualified

The class covered current and former minor leaguers who had signed a Minor League Uniform Player Contract and participated in qualifying activities within specific windows:¹

Florida spring training, extended spring training, or instructional leagues: participation on or after February 7, 2009.
California League: at least seven days of participation on or after February 7, 2010.
Arizona spring training, extended spring training, or instructional leagues: participation on or after February 7, 2011.

Players whose participation occurred after they signed a Major League contract were excluded.⁹

What MLB Had to Change Beyond the Money

MLB agreed to rescind rules that had prohibited teams from paying minor leaguers outside the regular season. The league issued a memorandum directing clubs to compensate players during spring training, extended spring training, instructional leagues, and the championship season in compliance with Arizona and Florida wage laws.⁵

The Save America’s Pastime Act and What Comes Next

While the lawsuit was still being litigated, MLB successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Save America’s Pastime Act in March 2018. Tucked into a 2,232-page omnibus spending bill, it created a statutory exemption that largely removed minor league players from the protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.¹⁰ The law was a direct response to the Senne litigation and was designed to shield MLB from future liability over minor league pay.¹¹ It did not, however, eliminate the pending Senne claims, which covered earlier conduct.

In December 2024, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Fair Ball Act, bipartisan legislation that would repeal the Save America’s Pastime Act and restore minimum wage and overtime protections for minor leaguers. The bill is endorsed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, the AFL-CIO, and the National Employment Law Project.¹²

What Changed for Minor Leaguers

Pressure from the litigation reshaped conditions well before the settlement was final. In February 2020, MLB announced raises of 38% to 72% in minimum weekly salaries for the 2021 season. Rookie-level pay rose from $290 to $400 per week, and Triple-A pay rose from $502 to $700 per week.⁷

The settlement also helped catalyze the first-ever collective bargaining agreement for minor league players, signed in 2023. MLB owners began providing furnished housing for minor leaguers in 2022. By 2025, Rookie-level players earn $700 per week during the season, Triple-A players earn $1,225 per week, and all minor leaguers receive free housing, transportation, two daily meals, and a per diem. As recently as 2019, none of those benefits existed for most players.¹³

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ESPN. Judge OKs $185M Settlement in Minor Leaguers Suit vs. MLB
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The Athletic. Senne Case Minor Leaguers $185 Million
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ESPN. MLB To Pay $185 Million Settlement to Minor League Players
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Courthouse News. Complex $185 Million Major League Baseball Deal Closes Minor Leaguer Pay Saga
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NBC News. MLB Settles Minor League Players Wage and Hour Class Action Suit
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Korein Tillery. Historic $185 Million Settlement in Minor League Baseball Wage and Hour Case Given Final Approval
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ESPN. MLB Raising Minimum Salary for Minor Leaguers
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ABC News. MLB To Pay $185 Million Settlement to Minor League Players
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ClassAction.org. Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Preliminary Approval Order
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Drexel Law Review. Professional Baseball Labor and Antitrust Exemptions
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University of Colorado Law Review. Save America’s Pastime Act
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Office of U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. Murphy, Blumenthal Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Labor Protections for Minor League Baseball Players
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Front Office Sports. How Much Do Minor League Baseball Players Make