MLBPA: Clark pay nearly doubled to $4.25M in ’23
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark received more than $4.25 million in compensation in 2023, with a $3.25 million salary and $1 million bonus, nearly doubling his total the previous year, according to a union financial report released Monday.
The revelation of Clark’s salary, which was $2.25 million 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 the union’s deputy executive director, Bruce Meyer.
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, sources told ESPN.
Clark’s salary is in the range of his contemporaries who have run major sports unions. Former NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith made $4.5 million in 2021 and $2.72 million in 2022. Former NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio received $3.1 million in her final year on the job. And NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh has a reported salary of $3 million after his predecessor, Donald Fehr, reportedly made $3.5 million per year.
In his first full year as executive director of the union in 2014, Clark received a salary of $1,993,525, according to the MLBPA’s LM-2, an annual filing that details union spending. The salary was nearly double that of his predecessor, Michael Weiner, who died of cancer in November 2013. Weiner and Fehr, the previous union executive director, capped their salaries at $1 million going back to the 1990s. Clark is expected to receive slight increases in his annual salary for the remainder of his contract, which runs through 2027.
The union’s revenues have grown significantly since Clark’s appointment. In 2014, the MLBPA’s total receipts were $64.7 million, according to the LM-2. Last year, the number was $191.8 million. The largest payments from 2023 include $49.6 million from Topps, $44 million from Fanatics, $28.6 million from the group licensing firm OneTeam Partners and $10.2 million from trading-card manufacturer Panini.
MLBPA spending on employee salaries has increased in recent years, according to the LM-2. In 2021, employees received $11.9 million, in 2022 it jumped to $15.4 million, and last year it was $16.6 million.
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 he would “trim the waste and excess” of the union’s spending, writing, “Our job is to make you rich, not the other way around.”
On a call two weeks ago that included members of the MLBPA’s 68-player executive board, players went back and forth on a number of subjects, including Meyer’s fitness for the job and the lack of communication from union officials. During discussions about the current leadership’s fitness for the job, sources said, multiple player leaders said they were unaware that the union had given Clark a five-year contract extension in November 2022.
Clark’s deal followed a 99-day lockout by MLB of the players who bridged most of the 2021-22 offseason. A bountiful winter, in which players received $3.9 billion in guaranteed money, followed the first year of the new deal, but free agent spending lagged in some areas this offseason, prompting player leaders to question Clark and Meyer’s stewardship.
The contretemps died down about a week after Marino told Clark he had significant player support to be installed as the new deputy executive director. While the full body of minor leaguers continued to back him, major league player support waned, and the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee — made up of eight elected players — eventually disavowed the efforts after members of the group initially backed Marino.
Still, multiple player representatives told ESPN they intend to call for an audit of the union’s finances, with the hope for it to start in the near future.
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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