NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark reportedly resigned Tuesday amid multiple scandals.
Reports indicated Tuesday morning that Clark is expected to resign because he and the union are under federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York for alleged financial improprieties. The 53-year-old was under investigation over the use of licensing money.
In addition to the federal investigation, an internal union investigation found he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, according to ESPN’s report Tuesday afternoon. Clark’s sister-in-law was hired by the union in 2023.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Major League Baseball Players’ Association Executive Director Tony Clark speaks to the media before Game 1 of the 2023 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Arlington, Texas, October 27, 2023. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Bruce Meyer, the union’s deputy executive director, was named by several players as the logical candidate to replace Clark, according to the ESPN report.
PK Press Club Digital reached out to the MLBPA for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The Eastern District of New York’s investigation focuses on the use of OneTeam Partners, a multibillion-dollar collective licensing company partly owned by the union. It’s also owned by Players Way, and the company has spent millions but hasn’t done many events.
MIKE TROUT GIVES $35 MILLION REASON WHY HE WON’T PLAY FOR TEAM USA IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Tony Clark walks the black carpet at the Players Party 2025 hosted by MLBPA, Fanatics, Topps and Lids at Flourish in Atlanta, Georgia on July 14, 2025. (Derek White/Getty Images for MLBPA, Fanatics, Topps & Lids)
Clark and the MLBPA were supposed to begin their annual tour of spring training camps on Tuesday, starting with the Cleveland Guardians, according to The Athletic. However, following this information, the meeting was canceled.
Clark’s expected resignation comes just months before CBA negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA.
Owners are widely expected to lock out players at the start of the offseason and push for a salary cap to be put in place. If the owners do indeed proceed with a lockout, it would be the second time in a row that they have locked out players upon the expiration of the CBA.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark speaks to reporters at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida on March 5, 2025. (Evan Petzold/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
In 2021, the sport was suspended for 99 days. Over the past four seasons, as spending at teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets has reached extraordinary levels, there has been a fervent push for a salary cap to be put in place, leading fans to wonder whether a lockout would threaten the entire 2027 season.
Historically, the MLBPA has been vehemently opposed to a salary cap.
In 1994, the union’s refusal to budge on implementing a cap led to the cancellation of that season’s World Series, with players going on strike midseason.
