# Are players legally required to play for teams they're traded to? (U.S. leagues) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 16, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195 "2018-06-16T06:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/21 "2018-06-22T14:07:33Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Players unions do very little for minor league players or amateurs who are subject to the agreements the union and owners negotiate. Granted owners do even less. But baseball unions could negotiate better pay for minor league players but that means taking money out of major league players. The MLBPA doesn’t represent minor league players. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/22 "2018-06-22T17:09:34Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The MLBPA doesn’t represent minor league players. That’s correct, actually minor league players have no union at all, period. > **[Here’s why minor league baseball players haven’t unionized](https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/6/5/17251534/mlb-draft-minor-league-baseball-union-phpa)** > > Minor League Baseball has been around for decades, and yet, they never unionized like their Major League cousins. Here’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/23 "2018-06-22T17:17:55Z")
Just to add, so you know how little you make in the Minor Leagues… The highest-paid players in MiLB get about $2,150 a month. That’s at the top. They only get paid during the season which lasts 5 months. That means that the best-paid players make $10,750 a year. The poverty level in the United States in 2018 is $12,140 for a single person household. Again, the _best_ players are in poverty unless they have other income. The lowest-paid players are making about half as much. So you’re not playing MiLB unless you really love to play or are hoping to someday get into the MLB so you can live off of your salary. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/24 "2018-06-22T18:32:07Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Just to add, so you know how little you make in the Minor Leagues… The highest-paid players in MiLB get about $2,150 a month. That’s at the top. They only get paid during the season which lasts 5 months. That means that the best-paid players make $10,750 a year. The poverty level in the United States in 2018 is $12,140 for a single person household. Again, the _best_ players are in poverty unless they have other income. The lowest-paid players are making about half as much. > > So you’re not playing MiLB unless you really love to play or are hoping to someday get into the MLB so you can live off of your salary. I’ve read that many minor-league teams make arrangements with local fans to house their players during the season (sort of like hosting an exchange student). Minor league players are young (often only in their late teens or early twenties), away from home for the first time, and many don’t speak English well (or at all). Given that they make very little money, as well, I think that this is a good idea, but it’s pretty sad that it’s necessary. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/25 "2018-06-22T21:25:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Just to add, so you know how little you make in the Minor Leagues… The highest-paid players in MiLB get about $2,150 a month. That’s at the top. They only get paid during the season which lasts 5 months. That means that the best-paid players make $10,750 a year. The poverty level in the United States in 2018 is $12,140 for a single person household. Again, the _best_ players are in poverty unless they have other income. The lowest-paid players are making about half as much. > > So you’re not playing MiLB unless you really love to play or are hoping to someday get into the MLB so you can live off of your salary. I had no idea it was that little per month. Of course, if you’re a legit prospect, you will have gotten a hefty signing bonus that will help carry you over. Also, the lucky few on the 40 man roster but still in the minors make 40k+. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/26 "2018-06-23T00:30:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Where did you get this impression? You can’t force a draftee to sign with your team, but holding his or her rights means they can’t play for anyone else in the league. You’re not responding to **Velocity** ’s post. He said that a player cannot be forced to play for a team that has his rights. That’s correct. He’s not saying that the player can just decide to play for another team, which is what you’re responding to. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/27 "2018-06-23T00:43:52Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Players unions do very little for minor league players or amateurs who are subject to the agreements the union and owners negotiate. Granted owners do even less. But baseball unions could negotiate better pay for minor league players but that means taking money out of major league players. Why would it? The major league players won’t be playing the minor league players’ salaries. And baseball doesn’t have salary caps. I know management likes to always tell workers that unions are a rip-off. But you have to consider the management might be presenting a biased view. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/28 "2018-06-23T02:16:32Z")
What about [Eric Lindros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lindros_trade)? He was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques\* (now the Colorado Avalanche), however he absolutely refused to play there. He ended up in Philadelphia. He had done the same thing before when he was in juniors – drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, but when he refused to play for them, they traded him to Oshawa. Dude was kind of a primadonna. \*The Nordiques/Avs had the last laugh though. Several of them wound up winning the Stanley Cup with the players they acquired for Lindros and he had to retire early due to repeated head injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/29 "2018-06-23T02:34:10Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > You’re not responding to **Velocity** ’s post. > > He said that a player cannot be forced to play for a team that has his rights. That’s correct. He’s not saying that the player can just decide to play for another team, which is what you’re responding to. Forced to play? I assumed he wasn’t talking about indentured servitude. I don’t know of any other way to respond to that question. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/30 "2018-06-23T03:47:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > What about [Eric Lindros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lindros_trade)? He was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques\* (now the Colorado Avalanche), however he absolutely refused to play there. He ended up in Philadelphia. In order to force that trade, he sat out from the NHL for a year, returning to the junior team (Oshawa Generals) for which he had been playing before Quebec drafted him, and making far, far less during that season than he would have, had he signed with Quebec. It eventually got him what he wanted (a team in a large, English-speaking city), but it was a risk on his part – had he suffered a career-changing injury during that holdout season, he would have lost a fortune. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/31 "2018-06-23T04:55:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In order to force that trade, he sat out from the NHL for a year, returning to the junior team (Oshawa Generals) for which he had been playing before Quebec drafted him, and making far, far less during that season than he would have, had he signed with Quebec. > > It eventually got him what he wanted (a team in a large, English-speaking city), but it was a risk on his part – had he suffered a career-changing injury during that holdout season, he would have lost a fortune. Did he have a problem with French speaking cities? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/32 "2018-06-25T05:06:47Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve read that many minor-league teams make arrangements with local fans to house their players during the season (sort of like hosting an exchange student). Minor league players are young (often only in their late teens or early twenties), away from home for the first time, and many don’t speak English well (or at all). Given that they make very little money, as well, I think that this is a good idea, but it’s pretty sad that it’s necessary. This is absolutely true, at least in the low minors. My local minor league team (short season A) was only recently sending out appeals for people to house the players (the season just started). Over the years I’ve talked to a few hosts at the ballpark (random encounters), and they all have said it’s a great experience. I agree it’s really sad that they have to do this. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/33 "2018-06-25T05:55:25Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Did he have a problem with French speaking cities? Lindros now claims that he refused to play for the Nordiques solely because of his dislike for the team’s then-owner. [As quoted in a 2016 ESPN interview](http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/17942372/nhl-hockey-hall-fame-former-philadelphia-flyers-great-eric-lindros-seems-happy-content): > [@](#): > > “The decision to not play for Quebec was based solely on the owner,” Lindros said in reference to former Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut, who was forced to resign as Canadian Olympic Committee president last fall. > > “It had nothing to do with language, culture, city,” Lindros said. “Keep in mind, my wife is French [from Quebec]. I was not going to play for that individual – period.” I think that may be a little bit of revisionist history on Lindros’s part (and, yes, he’s married to a Quebecois – but they married in 2012, 21 years after his infamous holdout). ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/34 "2018-06-25T21:58:55Z")
All of the talk about John Elway reminds me of Bo Jackson. In 1986, he was drafted #1 overall by Tampa Bay - and responded by playing baseball (Kansas City had drafted him right out of high school and still held his rights) for a year. The then-Los Angeles Raiders drafted Jackson in the seventh round (not the seventh pick - the seventh _round_) a year later, and he played for them before getting injured. I have heard two factors involved in his decision not to play for Tampa Bay. One, the team flew him somewhere in a team-owned corporate jet, which violated either an NCAA or an SEC rule, and resulted in his being declared ineligible for the 1086 college baseball season. Two, I thought I heard him say once that he would not play for an NFL team that would not also let him play baseball, which is why he fell to the seventh round before Al Davis took a chance on him. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195/35 "2018-06-26T15:24:26Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > What about [Eric Lindros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lindros_trade)? He was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques\* (now the Colorado Avalanche), however he absolutely refused to play there. He ended up in Philadelphia. > > He had done the same thing before when he was in juniors – drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, but when he refused to play for them, they traded him to Oshawa. Dude was kind of a primadonna. The Quebec Nordiques were a dumpster fire of an organization at the time - they didn’t move to Denver because everything was peachy - and Lindros was perfectly justified in choosing to try for a better deal. He was labelled as a jerk for it only because at the time people expected athletes to shut up and just work for whatever team owned them like you’d own a horse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-players-legally-required-to-play-for-teams-theyre-traded-to-u-s-leagues/816195.md?page=1)