Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached agreement on a collective bargaining agreement, ending the lockout. After a nearly 100-day lockout, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached a deal on a five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA deal came in time for the season to start just a week later than originally scheduled, with Opening Day set for April 7. Despite MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred previously announcing the cancellation of the first two weeks of games, the League will play a full 162-game schedule, with the cancelled games being made up with double headers. Highlights of the deal include raising the starting salary for players from $570,000 to $780,000 by 2026, expanding a bonus pool to reward top players not yet eligible for salary arbitration, holding a lottery for the top six picks in the amateur player draft, raising the thresholds for the competitive balance tax, and expanding the postseason playoffs to include 12 teams. Additionally, the long-awaited universal designated-hitter rule will become effective for the 2022 season, meaning National League pitchers will no longer be required to bat. Many are viewing the deal as a much-needed compromise to address the League’s financial woes as the sport’s popularity has waned in recent years. In 2019, ballpark attendance fell to 68.5 million, the lowest since at least 2006.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) issued a complaint seeking...