MLS is targeting early March to begin the '21 season, according to MLS President & Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott. The target date is in line with the league’s typical late February or early March start time. A source said the current plan is to play in local markets with some fans, based on guidelines provided by local officials and health authorities. The current plan is to play a full season next year, said the source. Since clubs returned to local markets on Aug. 12, 11 of the league’s 26 teams have hosted some fans in their respective home markets.
Commissioner Don Garber has previously said the league and its clubs will suffer a $1B revenue hit due to the pandemic, in large part attributed to the inability to have full capacity venues. Abbott in a statement said the league is "concerned" about attendance restrictions "continuing for a second year and are continually evaluating how to manage through the impact of the pandemic in 2021.”
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Part of that evaluation involves player salaries. In the spring, MLS and the MLSPA ratified a new CBA through '25, which included a newly negotiated force majeure clause. As part of those talks, player salaries were trimmed 7.5% in '20 while individual and team bonuses were cut, totaling over $100M in money saved.
Now, MLS is sending procedural notice to the MLSPA, indicating that the league is reserving the right to invoke the force majeure clause should it choose to do so in the future, the source said. According to the source, the force majeure clause, if invoked by MLS, would give the league the right to sit down with the union and evaluate how to manage through a second year with no fans. The continued economic impact of limited fans in attendance, among other reasons, is a significant factor for why MLS could invoke the clause, the source said. Based on language in the CBA, if MLS decided to invoke the clause, it couldn’t do so before December.
