MLS: agreement in principle for a collective agreement (2020-2024 cycle) with increase in salary cap

Major League Soccer and the players' union of the North American League (MLSPA) have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a new collective agreement, which will be used for the next five seasons (2020-2024), announced MLS on 06/02/2020. The adoption of this new collective agreement will be effective after it is ratified by both the executive committee of MLS and by the members of the players' union.

This new collective agreement provides in particular for a gradual increase in the salary cap (payroll ceiling) until 2025. The ceiling allocated to each team will thus go from $8.49m (or €7.78m) in 2019 to $9.22m (€8.45m) in 2020, then will increase each season until reaching $11.64m (€10.67m) in 2025. The legal minimum wage for a "senior player" (one of the 20 players who make up the senior squad of each franchise) will also gradually increase over the period, going from $70,250 (€64,400) per year in 2019 to $109,200 (€100,000) per year in 2024.

The 2020-2024 collective agreement also provides for an increase in the freedom granted to franchises to invest in players…