MLS, Players Union Still Disagree On Critical Contract Issues

The announcement from MLS and the MLSPU last week that they would extend negotiations for a new CBA came with a "huge sigh of relief," but also with a "stark realization: The hardest part is just now beginning," according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN SOCCERNET. Several reports have indicated that "only 'two or three' major issues remain to be hashed out" between the two sides." However, it "seems likely that these consist of the biggest sticking points, namely free agency, guaranteed player contracts and the league's single-entity system whereby MLS controls all player contracts instead of the individual clubs." The size of these obstacles "depends on each side's willingness to compromise." The MLSPU is seeking to reverse aspects of the current CBA that allow teams to retain the "rights to a player even after their agreement had expired," as well as "terminate a player's contract by midseason without compensation." While each side wants to "walk away feeling that they gained or preserved something," the aspects of the CBA in dispute are a "challenge to the league's single-entity system, and there appears to be no middle ground." If the MLSPU "refuses to budge on this issue, that increases the likelihood of a work stoppage." The same is true if "management decides no compromise is possible on the issues of free agency and guaranteed contracts, at which point things could get very ugly" (ESPNSOCCERNET.com, 1/31).

HOPING A DEAL IS CLOSE: Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said of the extension in the labor talks, "We all hope that it's positive. It means they've got to be close. I don't think you'd extend it if you're not close." Sounders G Kasey Keller added, "If they had come to a head, then both groups would have walked away and said, 'That's it, we can't do it.' So at least what this points out is that both accept the fact that we're moving in the right direction" (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/30). In New Jersey, Stefan Bondy wrote a "prolonged work stoppage would be disastrous for a league still searching for mainstream acceptance, especially in a World Cup year." As the NHL "can testify, the damage is irreparable" (Bergen RECORD, 1/30).