Jorge CastilloMar 31, 2026, 05:07 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
The Major League Baseball Players Association is carrying a war chest more than two times larger than it did at the same point ahead of collective bargaining with Major League Baseball in 2021 as it prepares for the possibility of an extended lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1.
The union accumulated $415 million in U.S. Treasury securities, cash and other investments by the end of 2025, according to its LM-2 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, a figure that dwarfs the union's $171 million coming off a COVID-shortened season in 2020 and heading into the previous round of CBA negotiations.
The last CBA expired in December 2021, leading to a lockout that lasted more than three months. Ultimately, Major League Baseball and the union agreed to a new CBA on March 10 to salvage a 162-game season with the start delayed by eight days.
The year-over-year escalation in 2025, from $283.8 million in 2024, included the MLBPA converting a large sum of cash to U.S. Treasury securities. While the union's cash reserve dropped from $144 million to $37.4 million, its investments in Treasuries -- highly liquid and low-risk -- jumped from $85.3 million to $222.1 million.
The MLBPA's total assets rose to $519 million from $353 million at the end of 2024; the net assets were $511.5 million.
To help spur growth, players have opted to allow the union to withhold group licensing checks since 2024. Those funds could be delivered to players during a lockout.
The union's lobbying spending also increased drastically in 2025, from $363,034 to $788,486, with two firms on monthly retainers. Although a higher volume of state and federal legislation and regulation on a variety of issues, including sports betting and NIL, has necessitated increased expenditures, the spending increase is also consistent with readying for a prolonged work stoppage that could draw congressional attention.
Former MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, who resigned last month after an internal inquiry stemming from a federal investigation revealed an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, made $3.58 million in 2025. Interim executive director Bruce Meyer, who was previously Clark's deputy, was paid $1.56 million.
Fanatics remained the union's largest revenue source, climbing from $94.4 million in 2024 to $106.4 million in 2025.
Players Way, a youth baseball initiative owned by the MLBPA and one of the two entities under investigation by the Eastern District of New York, is no longer operating, a union spokesperson confirmed. The company was being investigated for its use of funds after spending millions of dollars but offering just a few events.
