Playing 162 games over 183 days is a long season for any player or athlete, regardless of caliber or sport. This is why discussions between the MLB Players Association and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred regarding an 154-game season have been heating up.

Speaking to members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America before Tuesday's All-Star Game, Manfred mentioned that the potential shortening of the season could have a huge financial impact on the sport.

“There are ways to produce more off days in the schedule," he said, according to The Associated Press. "Some of those have very significant economic ramifications that — if in fact we’re going down those roads — those economic ramifications are going to have to be shared by all of the relevant parties. You want to work less, usually you get paid less. But we are prepared to discuss the schedule issues and make proposals that are responsive to the ones that we’ve received from the MLBPA.”

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The relevant parties (read as: TV networks) would likely have to restructure any standing TV deals with MLB in response to a shorter season. Also to be considered are all the regional sports networks that carry each individual franchise' games, and how a shorter MLB season would affect those long-term deals, as well.

The topic of an 154-game season is one that has gained steam in recent years, but it's not a discussion that isn't without questions. Would the shortened season mean more off days as Manfred said, or would the endgame mean the season ending earlier in September? If the latter turns out to be the case, then the grueling travel schedule that players have voiced their concerns about wouldn't necessarily change.

Most concerning (for players) however, would be the question of player salaries. As Manfred said, the idea of cutting a season short would mean the idea that players will be paid less — or give back salary — would be a fairly damning idea to the MLBPA. The idea already has Players Association president Tony Clark on the defensive.

"I don't agree that there would need to be a discussion about a loss of salary or a rollback of salaries," Clark said, according to the AP. "If there is a lessening of the games and we put players in the position where playing whatever number of games are in that season, they're able to play, the value of every game goes up as well."

While it's not an entirely new item on Manfred's plate, as it was something that was on the commissioner's desk prior to his tenure, and he discussed a shorter season on the surface level last year, but an 154-game season is starting to seem like more of a real possibility in the coming years.