reserve clause

American  

noun

Sports.

1. the clause in the contract of a professional player in some sports that binds the player to a team for a season beyond the expiration of the contract in the event a new contract has not been made meanwhile or the player has not been sent to another team.

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Etymology

Origin of reserve clause

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

She married and divorced actor Don Mitchell and later married baseball legend Curt Flood, who took a stand against baseball’s reserve clause and died in 1997.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

Pasquel may not have ended segregation or overturned the reserve clause, but he certainly hastened the demise of both.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2022

The reserve clause, for those who don’t remember, was baseball’s way of tying a player to a team for life.

From Washington Post • Mar. 2, 2022

In 1975, an arbitrator struck down the reserve clause in the cases of pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2021

The reserve clause in contracts was the direct cause of that struggle.

From The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 5 July 1906 by Various