Phillies Star Bryce Harper Threw Down With MLB Commish in Heated Face-to-Face Meeting: ‘Get the F*ck Out of Our Clubhouse’
BRONX, NY – JULY 25: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies in between innings during the game against the New York Yankees on July 25, 2025 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper reportedly got into a heated face-to-face exchange with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred over a conversation about salary caps.
According to reporting from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Manfred was in Philadelphia last week as part of his annual meetings with all 30 MLB teams. During this meeting, Harper had apparently grown frustrated with Manfred’s discussion about “the game’s economics.” Manfred, Passan noted, did not explicitly say “salary cap,” but Harper picked up on the implication and confronted the commissioner “nose to nose.”
The report continued:
Quiet for the majority of the meeting, Harper, sitting in a chair and holding a bat, eventually grew frustrated and said if MLB were to propose a cap and hold firm to it, players “are not scared to lose 162 games,” sources in the meeting told ESPN.
Harper stood up, walked toward the middle of the room, faced up to Manfred and said: “If you want to speak about that, you can get the f*ck out of our clubhouse.”
Manfred did not back down, reportedly telling Harper he’s “not going to get the f*ck out of here.” The two eventually concluded the meeting with a handshake, but Harper did not return phone calls from Manfred the next day.
The MLB does not have a salary cap, meaning teams are free to spend as much money on players as they want. For top players like Harper, Juan Soto, and Shohei Ohtani, the lack of a salary cap allows teams to offer exorbitant contracts that approach — and in rare cases, exceed — half a billion dollars. This causes team payrolls to vary greatly, with the New York Mets topping the league in 2025 with $332 million and the Miami Marlins floundering at the bottom with $68 million. Some have even suggested a salary floor, requiring teams to spend a minimum amount.
