Clark's salary is “in the range of his contemporaries who have run major sports unions," and the union's revenues have “grown significantly" since his appointmentGetty Images
MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark received more than $4.25M in compensation in 2023, with a $3.25M salary and $1M bonus, “nearly doubling his total the previous year," according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. The revelation of Clark's salary, which was $2.25M in 2022, comes in the wake of an "uprising at the union in which attorney Harry Marino attempted to garner support from players to replace" MLBPA Deputy Dir Bruce Meyer. Sources said that while Marino could “not rally the necessary backing to oust Meyer," his efforts calling for an internal audit on union finances “gained significant traction among player leadership.” Clark's salary is “in the range of his contemporaries who have run major sports unions." The union's revenues have “grown significantly since Clark's appointment." According to the MLBPA's annual LM-2, the union's total receipts in 2014 were $64.7M. Last year, the number was $191.8M. Marino, who "helped organize minor league players and eventually integrate them into the MLBPA," worked for the union for "less than a year before leaving amid clashes with top union officials." In a one-page letter he distributed to players advocating for the need of new leadership at the MLBPA, Marino said that he would "'trim the waste and excess' of the union's spending” (ESPN.com, 4/1).
CASTING DOUBTS: THE ATHLETIC’s Evan Drellich wrote the MLBPA is "vulnerable and unsteady after the attempted mutiny." No matter what happens now, questions about the union’s strength “will linger into the next round of collective bargaining" in 2026. Among those questions: "Can major leaguers restore unity in time for those negotiations? And will they avoid infighting with their minor-league counterparts over the union’s direction?" The "most important question" might be whether the MLBPA “will make meaningful changes.” It also will be seen if Clark can “create buy-in among not only the players, but the agents who influence them.” Not all complaints about the MLBPA leveled in the last two weeks, "ranging from communication to budgeting matters, are necessarily fair.” But fairness is “largely irrelevant to the union’s future.” What will matter is whether Clark “can quiet the complaints” and whether the union can “create more believers.” It seems "highly unlikely that players will soon remove Clark." Marino appears to have “no chance of joining union leadership while Clark remains atop the organization.” But discussions in clubhouses as to the union’s future are “still unfolding.” How or when they will be resolved "isn't clear" (THE ATHLETIC, 4/1).
