Orioles Owner Rubenstein Says Teams Earn More Than Private Equity, Six Weeks Before MLB Labor Deal Expires

With the MLB collective bargaining agreement set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, about six weeks from today, a remark from Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein has landed in the middle of the salary cap fight.

Speaking Thursday, Oct. 15, at a forum of pro sports owners hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, Rubenstein explained why he bought the team.

"A lot of my friends were buying teams, and I realized they're making money," he said. "They're making more money than I'm making in private equity. I thought I should look at it as a financial thing, but ultimately I bought the Orioles for a philanthropic purpose."

He added that owners "care more about winning than making money" but are "not against making money."

What Rubenstein actually said

Rubenstein bought the Orioles in March 2024. He said he grew up in Baltimore and wanted to help revive the team and the city.

He did not release Orioles financials. His comment was about what his friends' teams earn compared with his own returns in private equity, which is a broad claim, not an audited one.

His record as an owner is mixed. The Orioles won 101 games in 2023, 91 in 2024, 75 in 2025 and 79 in 2026. The rebuild has not produced a postseason run yet.

Yahoo Sports columnist Jake Elman noted that Rubenstein publicly backed a salary cap in January 2025. Elman wrote that 21 months is long enough for someone to change his mind.

The owners' stated case

MLB has publicly argued that a cap is needed for competitive balance. Earlier, owners told fans that running a team "isn't very profitable," according to CBS Sports. CBS says the league has since moved its messaging toward competitive balance.

That is the opposing position, and it does not depend on profits. Owners can say a cap is about parity while still acknowledging franchises make money. Rubenstein himself said he is not against making money.

He also has not been shy about spending. Fox's OutKick writers noted that the Orioles signed Pete Alonso and Kyle Bradish this past offseason, extended Samuel Basallo and locked up Shane Baz.

MLB has not said anything on the record in response to Rubenstein's comments, and the Players Association has not either.

The postseason complicates the cap pitch

The Dodgers have been the villain in the league's cap messaging. They won the 2024 and 2025 World Series, then added Kyle Tucker on a four-year, $240 million deal and closer Edwin Diaz on a three-year, $69 million contract.

Those moves did not deliver this October. OutKick reported that Tucker was a below-average hitter in Los Angeles. It said Diaz posted an ERA near nine in the regular season and battled injuries.

The Milwaukee Brewers swept the Dodgers in the NLCS. OutKick says it was the highest-rated LCS from either league since 2015, even though it lasted only four games.

The Brewers' World Series opponent will come out of the Guardians-Rays ALCS. All three teams rank in the bottom 12 in payroll, per FanGraphs. OutKick says Cleveland has the lowest payroll in the league.

The World Series starts later this week.

The argument that big spending guarantees titles is hard to square with that bracket. The competing view is that two or three small-market runs do not prove a competitive balance problem is absent. Owners have not made that argument publicly in response to this postseason.

Where the talks stand

MLB and the Players Association have publicly traded proposals over the past several weeks, according to CBS Sports. Yahoo's Elman wrote that neither side has budged on the salary cap.

CBS Sports says an agreement before Dec. 1 is possible, but a lockout is the more likely outcome. It would be the second in five years. OutKick says the owners are reportedly committed to fighting for a cap.

A lockout would bar players from team facilities and from contact with team personnel. No one has said how long one would last or whether spring training or the 2027 regular season would start on time.

The immediate question is whether the league takes the Dec. 1 deadline all the way to a lockout, and whether it keeps the cap as its central demand. The Players Association has not yet responded publicly to Rubenstein's remarks.