The implementation of an international draft is one of the most interesting – and complex – caveats currently being discussed as a new collective bargaining agreement is being negotiated.
When the current CBA – which expires in December – went into effect before the 2012 season, international bonus pools were created in an effort to curtail big market teams from spending incredible amounts of money in the international market. The system was designed to level the playing field because teams that went over their bonus pool limit had to pay a 100 percent tax on their spending.
But the system didn’t do much to curb the spending -- especially as an increase in talented and highly-desired Cuban players entered the international free agent market – as several teams were more than willing to spend over their limits as well as take on the added taxes.