MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott has issued a memo to teams and league staff telling them to prepare for a potential lockout of players if a new collective bargaining agreement isn't figured out this week, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN. The league has imposed a deadline of Jan. 29 at midnight to negotiate with the MLS Players' Association.
Here's an excerpt of the leaked memo:
"The January 29 deadline provides all constituents -- the League, the clubs, and the players -- adequate time to prepare for the upcoming season. At this point, however, we are required to plan for the possibility that the CBA may be terminated and that a work stoppage could occur. Therefore, we will be providing the clubs with guidance later today regarding the rules that must be followed during any such work stoppage.
"We want to be clear -- our hope is to reach an agreement and avoid a work stoppage. But we must be prepared in the event that we are unable to reach an agreement. We understand the challenges that COVID-19 has created for families in the United States and Canada, around the world, and in our MLS community. While we are not required to do so, in the event of a work stoppage, we plan to continue to provide health insurance and pay for those health care premiums for the players and their families."
Negotiations between the league and players' union have been in the works since MLS announced a force majeure clause back on Dec. 29, which apparently gives a 30-day window for a CBA agreement. The clause was invoked in response to alleged financial losses because of the coronavirus pandemic -- the league claims $1 billion was lost, with $725 million attributed to the pandemic itself -- and the slow vaccine rollout in the country. The latter is a problem for the league as it relies on gameday revenue.
The MLSPA argues that the clause was invoked opportunistically as the players have already made plenty of concessions and the league is just looking to minimize its expenses.
The league's demands include a salary cap freeze between 2020 and 2021, and an extension of the deal through 2027. This is expected to save the league anywhere between $100 million and $110 million, which would be in addition to savings that the players' union claims the league made when players gave up $150 million in concessions last June.
Among the more salient issues surrounding these negotiations is the North America-hosted World Cup in 2026, which is expected to bring an influx of revenue and investment into MLS as a result. This is surely something in the back of the mind of players, who would like to benefit from such an influx, and the league, which wants to maximize profits, thereby limiting costs, in response to said influx.
While the deadline is looming, the MLSPA argues that there is no hard deadline for these negotiations. Training camps are scheduled to open Feb. 22, and the season is supposed to start on April 3.
