Major League Soccer Bracing Itself For Lockout As CBA Deadline Approaches

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Major League Soccer has issued a league-wide memo telling clubs to brace for a lockout ahead of the collective bargaining agreement deadline scheduled for midnight of January 28, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

The negotiations between the two parties began on December 29th when the league invoked a force majeure clause following the 2020 season that wreaked financial havoc on the league as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, the league and the players association have been going back and forth to try and come to an agreement. However, those efforts remain unsolved.

The league lost an estimated $1 billion in revenue during the 2020 season as the league was unable to put fans in stands.

In a league-wide memo, #MLS president & deputy commissioner Mark Abbott told teams/staff to prepare for work stoppage in case agreement on revised #MLSCBA can't be reached. Deadline (at least in the league's eyes) is midnight, Thurs. More details here: https://t.co/CWc0rUHEMk

— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) January 27, 2021

“The impact of all this is probably deeper than what we expected. That is concerning to us,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in December 2020. “But our owners have been understanding this impact from the very beginning. We are concerned about what this will look like in 2021, and are working on how we can manage through that.”

During the 2020 season, players were paid 95 percent of their salaries. The players association is requesting that the players return to their full paychecks, which the league is content with.

However, the dilemma revolves around a potential freeze in salary cap improvements. The league is wanting to freeze the growth of the salary cap between 2020 and 2021, but the players association does not approve. The league is also wanting to extend the CBA an additional two years through the 2027 season, claiming the extension will save the league an estimated $100-110 million.

Earlier this week, the league announced plans to begin preseason training on February 22nd with the season to start on April 3rd.

If a lockout ensues, it will be the first lockout in the league’s history.