The players unions of professional leagues are made to create a channel of communication between league offices and their players. While the unions can be at odds with themselves, like the MLBPA is over the salary cap, the change that they introduction is mostly positive. However, the players unions in the NFL and Major League Baseball are subject of a new FBI probe, with Tony Clark and Richard Smith emerging as its biggest characters.

According to reports from ESPN's Jeff Passan, the FBI wants to know if any players or executives in either league are aware of any illegal deals made by OneTeam Partners. The licensing group was created to help athletes in both sports finalize media and NIL deals.

This is the second time in the past year that the National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against OneTeam Partners. MLB Player's Association executive director Tony Clark is one of the people under investigation. The NLRB alleges he “improperly gave himself & other executives equity”, according to Passan.

Clark, who has been leading the MLBPA since 2013, is the first former player to do so. Under his leadership, the MLBPA has done well, thanks in part to their partnership with OneTeam Partners.

Clark's main concern is preventing a lockout from happening in MLB. However, the FBI's probe has him in a different spotlight.

Back in December, the NFLPA brought in outside counsel in Richard Smith to look into the MLBPA and OneTeam Partners.

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The firm realeased a statement amid the investigation saying the group “remains steadfast in our commitment to following the best business practices, as has already been determined by the independent audit conducted earlier this year. … We remain dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all that we do.”

Upon the conclusion of Smith's investigation, the NFLPA found nothing wrong on their part.

Clark is the main focus of the investigation, but the FBI has reached out to current players, according to Passan.

The MLBPA and the players it represents make millions through their partnership. To this point, all parties involved in the probe have been fully cooperative. Time will tell what the FBI finds on Clark and the MLBPA, if anything. For now, though, the MLBPA defends Clark, saying that he did nothing wrong during his time as their executive director.