Tony Clark resigns as MLB players'
union head as possible cap fight looms
[February 18, 2026]
By RONALD BLUM
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tony Clark resigned as head of the Major League
Baseball Players Association, the union announced Tuesday, as a
possible salary cap fight looms during a federal investigation of
its finances.
“The full executive board of player representatives met this
afternoon with MLBPA staff and outside counsel to discuss next
steps,” the union said in a statement. “As always, the players
remain focused on their ongoing preparations for collective
bargaining this year.”
Clark was asked to resign by the eight-man executive subcommittee of
the players' association after an investigation by the union's
outside counsel discovered evidence that Clark had an inappropriate
relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023, a
person familiar with the union's deliberations told The Associated
Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that was
not announced.
Clark did not respond to a text message seeking comment.
His departure took place during a probe by the U.S. Attorney in
Brooklyn, New York, into OneTeam Partners, a licensing company
founded by the union, the NFL Players Association and RedBird
Capital Partners in 2019.
“A lot of people have known that the investigation has been going
on,” said the New York Mets' Marcus Semien, a member of the
subcommittee. “I think that this happening during the investigation
is not like, as a subcommittee, is not like overly surprising, but
it still hurts and it's still something I'm processing.”
The union's executive board, which includes the subcommittee and the
player representatives of the 30 teams, did not make any decisions
about a successor during Tuesday's meeting, the person told the AP.
Deputy executive director Bruce Meyer is set to be the primary
negotiator in the upcoming labor talks, as he was in 2021-22. After
Clark and Rick Shapiro led the 2016 negotiations, Meyer was hired in
August 2018 as senior director of collective bargaining and legal
and was promoted to his current role in July 2022.
Semien said he believes Clark is leaving to deal with the probe.
“I think so," he said, "because up to this point, before any
investigations, I’ve had the ultimate confidence in Tony Clark to
lead this player group. I've had the ultimate confidence in Bruce
Meyer to be the lead negotiator for this player group.”
The decision was made ahead of an expected start of collective
bargaining in April for an agreement to replace the five-year labor
contract that expires Dec. 1. Management appears on track to propose
a salary cap, which possibly could lead to a work stoppage that
causes regular-season games to be canceled for the first time since
1995.
Adam L. Braverman, a former U.S. associate deputy attorney general
and U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, was hired by the union's executive
subcommittee as outside counsel, two people familiar with the
group's action told the AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity
because the union hadn't announced that.
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Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony
Clark answers a question during a news conference in New York on
March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
The union on Monday canceled Tuesday’s scheduled
start of the staff’s annual tour of the 30 spring training camps,
which was to have begun with the Cleveland Guardians in the morning
and the Chicago White Sox in the afternoon.
Clark, 53, is a former All-Star first baseman who became the first
player to head the union.
He played from 1995-2009, becoming a union leader shortly after
going to his first executive board meeting in 1999.
Clark was hired as the union's director of player relations in 2010
and was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2013, when
union head Michael Weiner's health declined because of a brain
tumor. Weiner died that November and Clark was elevated to executive
director, following Marvin Miller, Kenneth Moffett, Donald Fehr and
Wiener as union head.
Clark led players through negotiations that led to an agreement in
December 2016, about 3 1/2 hours before the prior deal was set to
expire, and another in March 2022 after a 99-day lockout.
Meyer, 64, spent 30 years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining
the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective
bargaining, policy and legal.
Three members of the subcommittee, Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and
Ian Happ, were among the players who in March 2024 advocated for the
ouster of Meyer in an effort led by former union lawyer Harry
Marino. Clark backed Meyer, the effort failed and those three
players were dropped off the subcommittee that December.
The subcommittee voted 8-0 against approving the 2022 labor contract
and Meyer had advocated pushing management for a deal more favorable
to the union. Team player representatives, the overall group
supervising negotiations, voted 26-4 in favor, leaving the overall
ballot at 26-12 for ratification.
In addition to Semien, the current subcommittee includes Chris
Bassitt, Jake Cronenworth, Pete Fairbanks, Cedric Mullins, Paul
Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Brent Suter.
OneTeam says since its formation that it added, among others, the
players' associations of the WNBA, MLS, NWSL and the U.S. women's
soccer national team. RedBird sold its stake in 2019 to HPS
Investment Partners, Atlantic Park Strategic Capital Fund and Morgan
Stanley Tactical Value.
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