January 15 – It has taken some time for Major League Soccer (MLS) to catch up with the world game, however, on the back of announcing the league would move to the international calendar in 2026 comes the news that the league will implement new internal cash transfer market for the 2025 season.
In the past due to the single entity platform that is MLS, clubs could only move players to another MLS side if they received some form of non-cash asset. Those assets included other players, draft picks, and international roster spots. All these assets had a dollar figure attached to them to comply with MLS’s version of financial fair play…the salary cap.
Now, like the rest of the world, those with deep pockets can spend as much cash as they can afford – one eye will surely be on a comparison with the defunct North American Soccer League (NASL ) that spent itself into oblivion in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
There are caveats though.
- Teams are limited to having two incoming and two outgoing cash deals per season and the cash a team pays to acquire a player will hit against a team’s salary budget.
- Under the previous system teams could convert up to $3 million of transfer fees per year into General Allocation Money (GAM). MLS has yet to say whether that number will be increased.
- If a player acquired via a cash trade occupies a Designated Player or U22 Initiative Player slot with their new club, that designation must be maintained throughout the duration of their contract.
- Clubs have more flexibility in how many games a ‘homegrown’ player who is not currently on the first team roster, can be called up for and players who are 21 and younger can now play up to six regular season games and an unlimited number of cup matches.
In a statement, the MLS Players Association said this will be a two-year trial period adding: “Our hope is that these new provisions will create positive movement opportunities for players, create a transfer market within MLS that is comparable to the international transfer market, and provide improved protections for players. This is a step towards bringing MLS’s player movement standards in line with international norms.”
The primary window will run from January 31 to April 23, while the secondary window will run from July 24 to August 21.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1736923108labto1736923108ofdlr1736923108owedi1736923108sni@o1736923108fni1736923108
