The MLSPA has offered to accept a 7.5% pay cut, but MLS' latest offer came in at 8.75%GETTY IMAGES
The MLSPA voted to approve its latest counteroffer to MLS as it "relates to economic concessions for the 2020 season, modifications to the recently agreed upon CBA, and their agreement to participate in a summer tournament in Orlando," according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.com. However, sources said that MLS has "already pushed back, insisting that it has submitted its best offer and that it won't budge further." ESPN's Herculez Gomez tweeted that MLS is "giving the players until noon on Tuesday, otherwise they will lock the players out." A source called MLS' threat "'a disingenuous act,' especially given how much the MLSPA membership has offered." The MLSPA also is "requesting that the current CBA -- the framework of which was agreed upon last February but not ratified by either side -- be extended by one year" to '25. If the deal is approved by MLS, the one-year CBA extension "would push the total amount of concessions the MLSPA is making well beyond" the $100M contained in the union's previous proposal last Friday. But sources said that there "still remain some differences between the two sides, with some seeming small and others more intractable." While the MLSPA has "offered to accept" a 7.5% pay cut, MLS' "most recent offer came in" at 8.75%. Meanwhile, a "bigger sticking point relates to the force majeure clause that would allow either side to back out of a CBA in the case of a catastrophic event." Another "stumbling block is the start of a proposed revenue sharing plan related to a new broadcast rights deal that will commence" in '23 (ESPN.com, 6/1).
GETTING CLOSER TO ORLANDO? In L.A., Kevin Baxter notes if owners accept the union's offer, all 26 MLS teams "could begin gathering in Orlando, Fla., for a tournament in late June, making it the first major professional league in the U.S. or Canada to return from its COVID-19 suspension." Players "would be quarantined in a controlled environment at a Disney resort and play games without fans" at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. Players and staff "within the MLS bubble will be regularly tested for COVID-19." The Orlando tournament will "reportedly consist of a short group-play stage, with those games counting in the regular-season standings." That will be followed by an "elimination stage leading to a championship game." Teams will then "return to their home markets in the hopes of finishing a shortened regular season, followed by playoffs that could extend deep into the winter" (L.A. TIMES, 6/1).
