SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Dick Moss, the influential attorney who paved the way for free agency in Major League Baseball and dramatically reshaped professional sports salaries, has passed away at the age of 93. Moss died at an assisted living facility here on Saturday, according to announcements by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Joining the MLB Players Association in 1967 as general counsel, Moss worked closely with union executive director Marvin Miller. He was instrumental in the landmark 1975 arbitration case involving pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, which ultimately dismantled the longstanding reserve clause. This clause, embedded in player contracts since 1878, had allowed teams to unilaterally renew those contracts indefinitely, effectively binding players to their teams without recourse.
On December 23, 1975, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that the clause constituted only a single one-year renewal option, thus freeing Messersmith and McNally from their existing contracts and setting a monumental precedent. This decision not only initiated the era of free agency in baseball but also influenced other North American sports, leading to the advent of free agency across various leagues.
The ripples of Seitz’s verdict significantly boosted players’ salaries. At the time of the ruling, the average MLB salary was just under $45,000. By 1977, it had increased to $76,000, and by 2023, the average had soared to an astounding $4.5 million, marking a thousandfold increase over nearly five decades. Similarly, MLB revenues saw a substantial rise from $163 million in 1975 to more than $11 billion in 2023.
A Pittsburgh native, Richard Maurice Moss III was not only a formidable legal mind but also a charismatic and beloved figure among his peers. Before his storied legal career in sports, Moss earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Law School, served two years in the Army, worked at a Pittsburgh law firm, and served as a Pennsylvania assistant attorney general. His professional path significantly intersected with sports when he joined the United Steelworkers, where Miller also worked, paving his way to the MLB Players Association.
Throughout his career with the players’ union, Moss was pivotal in negotiating several collective bargaining agreements, improving grievance and salary arbitration mechanisms, and boosting the minimum player salary. His tactical prowess alongside Miller’s strategic leadership fortified the players’ union, enabling its members to execute successful strikes and withstand lockouts, fundamentally altering the dynamics of player-team negotiations.
Following his influential tenure with the union, Moss transitioned to a role as a sports agent in 1977, where he continued to break new ground. He negotiated historic contracts for renowned players such as Nolan Ryan and Gary Carter and was a central figure in challenging and exposing collusive practices among team owners.
Moss’s legacy extends beyond the contracts he negotiated and the legal battles he won; his work fundamentally transformed how players interacted with team management and their overall autonomy in professional sports. His contributions resonate in the robust salaries and free agency rights enjoyed by players today, across all major sports leagues.
Moss’s passing marks the end of an era for those in the sports legal realm and leaves behind a profound impact on both past and future generations of athletes. He is survived by his third wife, Carol Freis, whom he married in 1980, and a daughter from his second marriage, Nancy Moss Ephron. His contributions to sports and law will undoubtedly continue to be celebrated and studied for years to come.