CBA

New Tentative CBA Agreement Reached with MLS

Jan 31, 2020

Our primary responsibility is the negotiation and enforcement of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Since our founding in 2003, there have been four CBAs that have each substantially improved the position of the players and the working conditions in the league.

The new five-year CBA commences with the beginning of the 2020 season and runs through January 2025. Under the historic deal, free agency rights will increase dramatically while the percentage of eligible players more than doubles. Salary budgets and player compensation will experience steady growth that by the end of the deal will take the average salary over $500,000 and the senior minimum salary over $100,000. Additionally, owners will continue to invest in players on and off the field. For the first time in league history, the CBA includes mandatory charter legs for team travel that grow incrementally during the term of the agreement.

Noteworthy Changes

For more details visit mlsplayers.org/2020-cba

• $1.9 Billion in total spend.
• Age and years of service for free agency eligibility reduced to 24 years old and 5 years of service from 28 and 8, more than doubling the percentage of players eligible to become free agents.
• Improved competition with the addition of more than $55 million in new performance bonuses.
• A 55% increase in senior minimum salaries over 2019 levels over the course of the deal, with the senior minimum salary surpassing $100,000 for the first time in league history by 2023.
• First ever revenue share of future TV money
• Elimination of the cap on the number of free agents per team and contract mechanisms that prevent players from reaching free agency eligibility.
• Mandatory charter travel with 16 mandatory legs per team by 2024.
• Benefits extensions for all players.