MLB's Qualifying Offer Climbs to $23.1M as CBA Uncertainty Looms

The price of a qualifying offer keeps climbing. MLB's one-year qualifying offer for the coming offseason has been set at $23.1 million, reflecting the continued rise in average salaries across the league.

The figure matters because it sets the compensation baseline for free agents who decline it — teams signing such players surrender draft picks, while the losing club gains one. With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire, the qualifying offer system itself could be reworked in the next deal.

Several prominent free agents are expected to receive and reject the offer, betting on multi-year contracts in a market flush with television money.