A TLANTA – As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred looks to improve competitive balance in the league, Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, made his position on the possibility of a salary cap abundantly clear on Tuesday. "This is institutionalized collusion," Clark said. "That's what a salary cap is."

Major League Baseball faces a potential lockout in December 2026. Players and management have long clashed over salary cap proposals, a format that union head Tony Clark criticizes as harmful to competition and player salary guarantees.

MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark doubled down on his opposition to a salary cap on Tuesday, saying during All-Star festivities in Atlanta that such a change to the game's economic structure would move the game "backward.