Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he “reject(s) the premise” that minor league players are not paid a living wage, prompting a barrage of criticism a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee in a letter inquired about the league’s treatment of minor leaguers.
When asked whether owners can’t afford to pay minor leaguers more or simply choose not to, Manfred said: “I kind of reject the premise of the question that minor league players are not paid a living wage. We’ve made real strides in the last few years in terms of what minor league players are paid, even putting to one side the signing bonuses that many of them have already received. They receive housing, which obviously is another form of compensation. I just reject the premise of the question. I don’t know what else to say about that.”
In a follow-up, Manfred reiterated: “I reject the premise that they’re not paid a living wage.”