With the Major League Soccer preseason nearing a close, the season is scheduled to kick off on Friday. This exciting time of year for fans is filled with hope and anticipation for the upcoming season. However, there is a looming question in the back of fans’ minds concerning whether or not the first ball will be kicked this season.
The MLS and the Players Association have struggled to come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and with first kick in close proximity, it is doubtful the season will start on time. The Major League Soccer Players Union and league officials will be meeting this week with federal arbitrators in Washington D.C. to discuss new terms.
However, one thing that we, as fans, tend to forget is that the MLS is a business. Although fans, including myself, remain stymied by our childhood desires that an agreement can be made just by shaking hands, we so easily forget that the players we watch and idolize need to make their living too.
While it might be a slight inconvenience for fans, a new CBA is long overdue for the league. The last time the MLS, which is now entering season number 20, issued a new CBA was 2010. The Federal mediator was also able to end the strife between league and union without a lockout in 2010, and hopefully, it will work this time.
Some people have called the league stubborn, but others have sided with MLS, saying the players are being greedy. The terms of the new CBA that are being argued over most are free-agency clauses and minimum salary restrictions, along with a change to the salary cap. Both the players union and MLS are ready to do whatever it takes to come to terms on a new CBA and start the season as scheduled.
The MLS salary cap is one of the most stringent in all of professional sports at the low cost of just $3.1 million for the first 20 players on the roster, excluding designated players. Mathematically, the maximum salary a player can make per year if they are not a designated player is a “measly” $387,500, which in the sports world, is a dwarf figure.
The designated player rule was instituted so that big name players could sign with clubs for big-money contracts while still only counting as $387,500 toward the salary cap. Each team is allotted three designated players on their payroll.
The minimum salary restriction for players in the MLS is $36,500, which by current American standards, is barely enough to pay for the cost of annual housing. While this salary only applies for players who have been put into roster spots 25-30, it still is not enough. Like I stated earlier, playing soccer is how these players make their living. While it might not be as laborious, it still requires a humane salary that can allow players to afford to live in the country.
Free agency is also a hotbed of debate in the discussion for a new CBA. With players declaring themselves free agents, they hit the market to draw interest from multiple clubs, of which most will bid on the player until the club with the highest bid wins. Free agents essentially increase their salary by pitting clubs against one another in a fight for the rights to that free agent.
The new CBA would include a clause from the league stating free agency restrictions so that clubs aren’t suckered into paying exorbitant prices for a free agent player who is not worth the money they are paid. This new free agency policy would likely ensure the possibility of a lower range of bids for a player who decides to test the free agent market.
So how can the CBA be fixed? The salary cap should be expanded to $4 million, with the maximum individual salary rule staying the same. With this expansion, teams can now pay their players more to maintain player contracts. There should be a minimum salary rule that forces teams to pay players in the first 20 roster spots who aren’t designated players at least $100,000.
As for players in roster spots 21-30, the minimum salary restriction should be raised to $50,000 in order to provide players with a livable salary. Free agency should also follow restrictions to make players affordable to all teams, even those with the lowest payrolls. Those restrictions I cannot suggest, as it would have to be agreed upon by the MLS and the MLSPU.
Will the MLS season start on time? In 2010, the new CBA was signed five days prior to the season. We are already past that time, but even if the two parties cannot agree, the season will likely start without a CBA, using the terms of the current labor agreement to govern the league until the new one is made. The only thing we as fans can do is hope the season kicks off as planned.
Daniel Shulman is a sophomore at Boston University majoring in Journalism through the College of Communication. A native of Stoughton, Dan is a sports fanatic who loves everything Boston sports related. He is currently a Sports Hawk at the Boston Globe in the High School sports department. He is also a statistician for both Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Men’s Ice Hockey. Aside from writing, Dan has an interest in music, movies and cooking.
