The list of players who are eligible for free agency entering the 2021-2022 offseason is now available. Included in the list are both free-agency eligible players who are out of contract, as well as free-agency eligible players who are out of contract but have an option year remaining on their contract. This marks the first time this list has been released publicly by the Major League Soccer Players Association.
MLS players negotiated for and won major free agency gains in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), lowering eligibility standards significantly to include more of the player pool, removing caps on the number of free agents teams could sign, and eliminating player exclusions based on salary.
Heading into the 2021-2022 offseason there are currently 127 free-agency eligible players across MLS, a 149% increase from the same period two years earlier (2019-2020).
Under the new 24 years old and 5 years of service eligibility standard, 26% of the current MLS player pool meets the eligibility threshold for free agency. In the final year of the last CBA, only 11% of the MLS player pool met the eligibility threshold.
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