Player: CBA deal good all around

ATLANTA UNITED HOMETOWN TEAM, HOMETOWN COVERAGE

When he wasn’t helping Atlanta United win the MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup or Campeones Cup, Jeff Larentowicz spent most of the past two years on the phone as an executive board member of the Major League Soccer Players Association in its negotiations with Major League Soccer over a new collective bargaining agreement.

That work came a to fruitful conclusion Thursday when it was announced that the two sides had agreed to a deal, a day before the deadline and three weeks before the start of the league season.

The five-year deal must be approved by the league’s Board of Governors and voted on by the players.

“This continues to move the league forward and improves the playing conditions for all players,” Larentowicz said.

This was the third CBA that Larentowicz has helped the MLSPA work on, and he said it was by far the easiest. Larentowicz said the players were united, making it known months ago that if there wasn’t some agreement to their demands, they were willing to strike.

“It’s not time to have a parade; there is still plenty of work to be done,” Larentowicz said.

Among the highlights:

■ Salary budget, GAM (General Allocation Money), performance bonuses and discretionary TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) will increase from $9.225 million in 2020 incrementally to $11.643 million in 2024. In 2019, it was $8.49 million.

■ The maximum number of Designated Players (three) will not change.

■ Any future possible changes to roster spends must be approved by the MLSPA and must include a minimum 40% into unrestricted money. This was done to prevent another “bucket” of money like TAM. “There’s far less restricted money, and I think that’s a great thing,” Larentowicz said.

■ The minimum salary of a senior roster player will incrementally and annually increase from $70,250 in 2019 to $109,000 in 2024, with as much as $35,000 in achievable bonuses. The salary increase will be 55% by 2024.

■ Segments of charter flights, which were a maximum of four in 2019, will increase to a mandatory eight in 2020 and to 16 in 2024. Teams will be required to fly charter to CONCACAF Champions League for international matches as well as for playoff matches. Players wanted this to help improve rest and recovery and the on-field product. “I think it’s vital,” Larentowicz said. “It’s a huge steppingstone for us as players.”

■ Free-agency rules will change from a player needing to be 28 years old with eight years in MLS to qualify to needing to be 25 years old with five years of service. This change is expected to double the pool of eligible free agents. There also is no longer a cap on the number of free agents a team can sign. The previous cap was two.

■ Starting with the 2023 season, players will share in revenue from media rights.

Larentowicz, 36, who is in his 16th year in MLS, didn’t want to say if this CBA would be his legacy as a player. But he did look proud Thursday.

“History judges CBAs,” he said. “We will see what happens . ... When I retire in 2024, the league minimum salary will be close to $110,000. When I started ... (in 2005), it was $10,000. It’s very good, and I think that it’s been a long time coming.”