Players Association: President Tony Clark resigns

The current Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement will expire at 11:59 p.m. (Quebec time) on December 1, which means that the 2027 season of the Manfred circuit is currently in jeopardy. And as if things weren't complicated enough, we now know that Tony Clark will be stepping down as president of the MLB Players Association.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and other media outlets, Clark will resign less than ten months before the current collective bargaining agreement expires. An official statement is expected today, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

MLBPA chief Tony Clark resigns ahead of upcoming labor war https://t.co/pVg8FgsynQ via @USATODAY

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 17, 2026

Obvious tensions over the salary cap and the fact that a federal financial investigation still hangs over Clark's tenure are said to have gotten the better of the president. Clark and the MLBPA are under federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York, with prosecutors examining whether a licensing company co-founded by the MLBPA and the NFL Players Association, OneTeam Partners, was used to financially enrich union leaders.

Clark took over as head of the Players Association in December 2013 following the death of Michael Weiner, arriving after spending 15 years in the league as an ambidextrous first baseman.

In November 2022, Clark's $2.2 million per year contract was extended through 2027 after contentious negotiations led to a 99-day lockout between December 2021 and March 2022.

Brent Suter will serve as interim leader for the MLBPA.

The MLBPA will have an interim leader, union subcommittee member Brent Suter said.

Suter has a sense of who it will be, but didn't say who.

“We're not going to get a search going. Bargaining here. We're going to have an interim & keep everything as stable as we can this year.”

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 17, 2026

The MLBPA now faces a leadership search at a crucial moment. Owners currently appear willing to sacrifice the 2027 season to impose a salary cap, a concept Clark has publicly opposed at every opportunity.

It remains to be seen how this will impact the future.

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