New charter flight rules have MLS players flying high

Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association have reached an agreement in principle for a new collective bargaining agreement. And there’s one aspect to the new deal that has the players flying high.

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. Clubs will be required to use charter flights for eight legs of travel during the 2020 regular season, growing to 16 legs for the 2024 season.

In the previous years, clubs had the discretion, but not the requirement, to charter up to four legs per season. Now, teams will also be required to use charter air travel for all MLS Cup Playoff matches and CONCACAF Champions League games involving international travel.

Other highlights of the new CBA include:

INCREASED INVESTMENT IN PLAYER SPENDING

MLS will increase investment in the salary budget, General Allocation Money and performance bonuses for players, raising the spending power per club every year, from $8,490,000 (all numbers in US currency) in 2019 to $11,643,000 in 2024.

GREATER SALARY BUDGET FLEXIBILITY

During the last three MLS seasons (2017-19), clubs were provided an additional $1.2 million per season in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) to be used for the acquisition or retention of players within a specific salary budget range. Under the new CBA, that $1.2 million per season has been converted to General Allocation Money and may be used across the entire roster. Additionally, as the amount of guaranteed spending across the entire roster increases over each of the next five seasons, the amount of Discretionary Targeted Allocation Money per season will decrease.

PLAYERS TO SHARE IN MEDIA REVENUE

For the first time, player spending per club will include a share of the increased revenue generated by MLS’S new media agreements in 2023 and 2024. Beginning in those years, MLS will increase player spending by an amount equal to 25 per cent of the increased media revenue above the amount generated by the league in 2022 plus $100 million.

EXPANDED FREE AGENCY

The eligibility criteria for free agency has been expanded to include players who are 24 years or older and have five years of service in MLS. The CBA also includes caps on the increases in compensation in free agent contracts.

NEW UNDER-22 PLAYER INITIATIVE

Beginning in 2021, MLS will have the discretion to allow clubs to sign up to three players who are 22 years old or younger on a reduced charge to a club’s salary budget.

DESIGNATED PLAYER SPOTS

Clubs will continue to have the right to sign up to three Designated Players in the new CBA. The league will have the right to limit the compensation for the third DP spot to the maximum TAM Salary, unless the player is 23 or younger, in which case there will be no limit.