It didnt. I think I had posted a while back with the old CBA through 2021 because the MLBPA hadnt posted the 2022-2027 version. They now have. All deferrals are discounted if they are not paid with interest that is at least 150 bps within the mid-term AFR for the first contract year. Applicable text is below. The midterm rates have been running around 4.5%, including notably 4.4% in October so I think we are looking at 4.4% per year discount for any payments deferred until after the contract ends if no interest is paid (or, e.g., 3% if the contract calls for 1.5% interest).
Realistically, I think Cots is just wrong here and just pulls the nominal amounts.
(6) Deferred Compensation
(a) Definition
“Deferred Compensation” shall mean any Salary payable to a Player pursuant to a Uniform Player’s Contract in a Contract Year after the last championship season for which the Contract requires services as a baseball player to be rendered.
(b) Attribution
(i) Deferred Compensation shall be included in a Player’s Salary as if paid in the championship season to which it is attributed under a Uniform Player’s Contract. If a Contract does not attribute Deferred Compensation, the Contract shall be treated as
if the Deferred Compensation was attributed equally to each of the Guaranteed Years in the Contract.
(ii) If the Deferred Compensation is to be paid with interest at an effective rate that is within one and one-half percentage points of the Imputed Loan Interest Rate for the first Contract Year covered by the Contract, then the Deferred Compensation shall be included at its stated value. Otherwise, the Deferred Compensation shall be included at its present value in the season to which it is attributed, said present value to be calculated by increasing any such payments by the Contract’s stated interest rate, if any,
and then reducing such payments back to their present value by applying as a discount rate the Imputed Loan Interest Rate for the first Contract Year covered by the Contract. If the terms of a Contract are confirmed by the Association and the Office of the Commissioner before the Imputed Loan Interest Rate for the first Contract Year covered by the contract is available, the Imputed Loan Interest Rate shall be the annual “Federal mid-term rate” as defined in section 1274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code for the
month preceding the month in which terms are confirmed. If a Uniform Player’s Contract uses the date or year in which a Player retires as a triggering event for the commencement of payment of the Deferred Compensation, it will be assumed for purposes of calculating Salary under this Article only that the Player retires on the day that he reaches age 40 or at the end of the Contract, whichever is later.
(4) “Imputed Loan Interest Rate” for each Contract Year shall mean the annual “Federal mid-term rate” as defined in Section 1274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code for the October preceding that Contract Year.
If people would like to look themselves, its available at
https://www.mlbplayers.com/cba
The above language on deferrals is on page 135/136