In late July, before a game against the Boston Red Sox, Bryce Harper sat slumped in a chair in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse, a baseball bat in hand. Philadelphia was the latest stop on Rob Manfred's leaguewide speaking tour; ahead of a CBA negotiation that virtually everyone in baseball expects to involve a 2027 work stoppage, the MLB commissioner spent the summer visiting all 30 teams, trying to get players on board with his plans to restructure the league's economics. When the subject of a salary cap came up late in the meeting, Harper rose from his seat. He walked closer to Manfred until their noses almost touched, and told the commissioner that if Manfred wanted to talk salary cap, he could "get the fuck out of our clubhouse."
Viktor Gyökeres has pushed back on the idea of "player power" after high-profile moves for himself and international teammate Alexander Isak during the transfer window. Both Sweden strikers had big moves to Arsenal and Liverpool respectively after lengthy negotiations between the clubs involved. The president of Gyökeres' now former club, Sporting, spoke out prior to agreeing a deal with Arsenal, saying he would not accept "blackmail and insults" in the negotiations surrounding his star striker. Isak signed for Liverpool on transfer deadline day after he, like Gyökeres, made clear his ambition to leave his then-current club.
