Minor League Baseball doesn’t appear to be following many majors sports across the United States as it won’t be getting a 2020 season. Although this is sad news for fans of baseball, MiLB wants to try and do what’s right for players to ensure there can be a 2021 season.

Officially Canceled

While Major League Baseball looks to be pressing on with plans to start the 2020 season, MiLB won’t be following suit. The MiLB president, Pat O’Conner, said that for the first time in the organization’s 120-years history, it is canceling an entire season.

O’Conner disclosed in a statement that MiLB intended to remove any uncertainty about the 2020 season by officially canceling it. The MiLB president explained that by canceling the 2020 season, organizations could begin planning the 2021 season.

What About the Players?

Many younger players would have been sent to their franchise’s developmental teams during the 2020 season, but now they won’t. It’s expected they will instead join their major league teams and be a part of the roster to gain some experience that way. Younger players are also likely to play in a handful of MLB games to give them some experience, making their big-league debuts earlier than anticipated.

Other Leagues

Not much is known about whether developmental players will get the chance to shine in the Fall and Winter leagues. They may still be scheduled as standard, or players may be forced to head to other countries during the winter to gain some experience. The players are expected to be paid weekly $400 stipends through July, but what happens after that remains unknown.

With so much uncertainty in the world right now, some sports are simply not gambling by resuming or starting new seasons. Minor League Baseball won’t be seen in 2020, with fans having to wait until at least 2021 to see some minor league ball games.

During the past eleven years, college sports programs have paid a total of over $500 million to basketball and football coaches after they were fired. This shows just how often dead money is being paid among athletic institutions.

Among College Sports, Football and Basketball Account for Most of the Dead Money

An analysis of financial records has found that college sports programs have spent over $500 million to pay the coaches who were fired from 2010 to 2021. The report has determined that football accounted for $402.3 million or 75% of the dead money, while basketball was responsible for the rest. In total, some 112 athletic coaches were paid over a million for no work done.

The College Sports Industry Has Paid Over $10 Million to Some of the Fired Coaches

The payments varied depending on the conference, and schools that paid coaches the most include Auburn, Nebraska, Texas, Ole Miss, and Kansas. The most well-paid coach was Will Muschamp, who in 2014 was paid $6.3 million to stop coaching football for the University of Florida. Later in 2020, he received an additional $12.9 million to stop working as a coach for the University of South Carolina. Charlie Strong comes in second with a total of $11.8 million from Texas and South Florida, while Todd Graham is third with $11.1 million of dead money from Arizona State.

It seems the top ten paid coaches have received a combined total of over $100 million to stop coaching for their teams. The report also highlights that the financial records were missing information for payments for many coaches fired during the past eleven years. This means that the total sunk cost for payments to coaches who stopped working for their team was likely higher than the $533 million figure.

According to critics of the college sports industry, people have noted that the report shows how broken the financial structure of the industry is. They pointed out how half a billion dollars could be used to support the education, health, and safety of college athletes.