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

When a federal court ordered a jury trial to investigate baseball’s labor practices, the owners quickly realized the reserve clause likely would be overturned, potentially costing them millions in salary.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2022

When Curt Flood first challenged the reserve clause, owners fought for it all the way to the Supreme Court — and won.

From Washington Post • Mar. 2, 2022

But at the time, the Major Leagues’ reserve clause essentially kept players under a franchise’s control in perpetuity.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2021

Then comes in the reserve clause again: “But he shall have one Tribe for My servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the Tribes of Israel.”

From The Lost Ten Tribes, and 1882 by Wild, Joseph