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Leagues and Governing Bodies

As Strike Looms, MLS Offers Players A Version Of Free Agency, But MLSPU Not Budging

MLS and the MLSPU "reportedly staked out their positions regarding free agency on Tuesday, with the proposed cap on increasing free agent salaries among the issues putting a potential deal in peril," according to sources cited by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC. A source said that MLS' current offer "provides players who are 28 years or older, and who have been in the league at least eight years but not necessarily with the same team, [with the opportunity to] 'have the right to choose their next market' when their contract runs out or when their option is declined." The source added that the player's previous team "will not be able to make a modified offer of a nominal salary increase to keep the player." ESPN's Taylor Twellman tweeted that the proposal "dictates that the most a salary could go up at the end of a contract" was 10%. Twellman also pointed out that players who enter MLS as teenagers "may have to wait over a decade to reach the 28 year threshold." A source indicated that the current proposal "is for eight years, three years longer than the previous deal, and that there is concern on the union side that with the proposed cap on increasing free agent salaries, MLS will now have less incentive to give raises before a player's contract is up." Earlier yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the offer on the table "was for players aged 32 and over who had been in the league 10 years" (ESPNFC.com, 3/3).

SIGNS OF LIFE? In Orlando, Tenorio & Limón Romero write MLS' free-agent offer "is a potentially significant step in negotiations that have felt oceans apart." For much of the negotiations, MLS "indicated it was not willing to discuss free agency in any fashion." While the offer "showed at least a willingness to inch closer to a compromise, there were financial strings attached that made the offer far less palatable" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/4). SI.com's Brian Strauss wrote reports that the league has "offered limited free agency," even if it is only for Dynamo MF Brad Davis, "are interesting because they represent a tiny bit of movement where there’d been none previously." Free agency "has been a Pandora’s Box that MLS hadn't been interested in opening" (SI.com, 3/3). In DC, Steven Goff reported both sides "remained locked in discussions with federal mediators" yesterday, which "marked the final day of a three-day session, although talks could continue into Wednesday, if necessary." The previous CBA expired Jan. 31, but teams have "conducted the preseason as planned." Without a "pathway to a deal, the players seem inclined to strike before the season starts." Numerous players from around the league "have attended this week’s talks," as have "several MLS owners" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/4).

KEEPING IT CIVIL: In Vancouver, Marc Weber writes perhaps the "most positive sign of these negotiations is the lack of mudslinging." There has "been tough talk -- the vast majority from the players’ side as they look to win the fan vote -- but nothing much personal or venomous" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 3/4). In Chicago, Brian Sandalow noted there had been reports indicating that "a vote to strike by the players could come as early" as last night or today (CHICAGOSUNTIMES.com, 3/3). Crew D and player rep Tyson Wahl said that there "is no timetable for a strike vote." He added, "We love the game and we want to play, but we’re fighting for something that’s important to us, We’re hoping to get a deal done, but we’re prepared for a work stoppage" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/4). Real Salt Lake MF Kyle Beckerman: "I can tell you this: The players, we're trying to get a deal. ... But it takes two sides to get a negotiation done" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/4).

HAS IT COME TO THIS? ESPN’s Bob Ley said, “I cannot believe these two sides cannot get a deal done and don’t understand the stakes.” Ley: “If there’s not soccer on this weekend this will be a new standard in insipid behavior.” Twellman said if MLS wants the league to be a “top league in this world” by ’22, “player movement and spending have to change. You have to compete with the rest of the world.” Twellman: “Both sides are at fault ... and I’m shocked we are.” Ley added “there’s plenty of soccer out there” on TV and “that’s part of the equation. They cannot afford to go dark. I cannot believe that the union and ownership is collectively not that well-informed -- illuminated -- to get a deal done. It always happens at the deadline and intelligence dictates it will” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/4).

OUT WITH THE OLD: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes at its core, the MLS dispute "is about the ability of players to sell their services to the highest bidder." The practice "is common in sports" and int'l soccer. So while players "want salaries increased" -- both for the player minimum ($36,500 last season) and for each team’s salary cap ($3.1M last season). The MLS system "is antediluvian, born of the league’s odd-duck structure." As a single-entity league, MLS "owns all players contracts, which keeps a draconian brake on player movement (and thus compensation)." Prohibiting free agency "helps MLS control player costs." Yet even as MLS says that its players "cannot become free agents within its single-entity confines, it argues that its players can find freedom by leaving the country to sign with foreign clubs." Even some on the management side "acknowledge the league needs to evolve" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/4).

DEBBIE DOWNER: In Orlando, Brian Schmitz writes amid "all the merry anticipation" for Orlando City SC's sold-out MLS debut "is the frustrating, deflating flip side" of a potential work stoppage. Orlando City "has sold 13,000 season tickets and announced it expects 60,000-plus fans" for Sunday's MLS debut against NYC FC. The attention of the local media "has jumped from the Magic's sinking ship" to Orlando City's "roarin' bandwagon." The idea that the club's launch "could be scrubbed and the Citrus Bowl sit empty is so depressing it's unhealthy" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/4).

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