Two relatively small tweaks that would really open up those possibilities would be to make U22 into U23 (or U24), and to allow U22/3 salaries to be bought down with GAM rather than having a hard limit at the Maximum Salary Budget Charge.
That doesn't add a dollar to the pool, but all of a sudden the player universe for those spots both inside and especially outside the league gets much, much bigger, which would only further empower the league's goal of having young talent with sell-on value.
Totally, and this is a very elegant solution to that pre-existing problem as you describe.
That incentive also makes intra-league transfers more lucrative for players than leaving the league, which is another part of the design.
But every elite player in the league sees this message that there could be a fat bag in it for them to push for the exit door, never mind the tapping up potential here.
The first time one of these deals takes a player from a small market to NY/LA/Miami I think people are going to go "hey, wait a minute..."
You might be right! And in that case, it's up to the CSOs to build a culture where players don't want to leave. Keep adding quality, keep pushing for trophies, and keep lines of communication open.
Yeah I agree. Call it the best of imperfect options. And for this to happen collaboratively and happily with the union is good for everybody. I just feel like the somewhat perverse incentive structure deserves a mention. That's what reply guys are for!
"is this MLS 4.0" lol now MLS needs to workshop the u22 rule so teams actually have an option to hold on to good players instead of being forced to sale because of low salary restrictions.
I don't follow the intricacies of MLS roster rules, salary caps, DPs, TAMs... and I don't have the energy to try. So let me ask this. Is there a future where MLS moves away from its salary cap and single entity structure? Will we ever see a day where MLS is structured like the NFL, for example? Or any of the three major sports? Maybe MLS 5.0? Is this even something the owners want in the future?
Because teams would never have that much allocation money to toss around given current rules. You'd have to sell at least 3-4 players and get <$4-5 million above what you paid for them to even approach how much Cincinatti paid for Evander. Having teams be able to make deals outside of allocation money is a crucial step to retaining top end talent.
I believe that this is MLS 4.0. Not just the cashfers, but the combination of all of the changes over the past year. I truly believe that we will look back on 23-25 era as the beginning of MLS 4.0 10 years from now. That being said, I hope for an MLS 5.0 that bring about the changes you’re discussing here.
What about simplifying all the Byzantine roster rules and raising the cap significantly? With a soft cap of $6 million, you have to create all these pathways for teams that want to spend to do it and stay within the league parameters. Why not just raise the cap to $40 million?
Am I naive? Will that create an increase in salaries across the board and lead to the players union asking for all teams to pay like the teams at the top? Maybe... but to me, can we really consider the next growth phase of MLS to be the introduction of MORE roster and pay rules? I'd like to think 4.0 will be the simplification of the roster and pay rules so MLS looks more like other leagues. At some point - and I'm not saying it's now - don't the kid gloves have to come off?
MLS has become a top 10 league and club values have absolutely skyrocketed within the framework of the current rules, and so those rules aren't going away any time soon. So yeah, I think you're being a little naive.
Agree. It feels like the totality of roster rule changes are leading towards something. Where and how far that will go...I guess we shall see. Either way, MLS 3.0 is the age of experimentation.
Hopefully MLS 4.0 is spending more money on the rest of the roster vs the DPs. That’s where the biggest issue is imo
I think MLS 4.0 is:
1. Adding at least two more DP-caliber players per roster, and
2. Making it easier to retain mid-tier players so teams like the Galaxy don't have to blow it up
Two relatively small tweaks that would really open up those possibilities would be to make U22 into U23 (or U24), and to allow U22/3 salaries to be bought down with GAM rather than having a hard limit at the Maximum Salary Budget Charge.
That doesn't add a dollar to the pool, but all of a sudden the player universe for those spots both inside and especially outside the league gets much, much bigger, which would only further empower the league's goal of having young talent with sell-on value.
My worry is what happens when the league's talismen realize that they can collect a $500k+ bonus by agitating for an exit?
I mean, I'm not sure it's that different. Evander and Lucho were already agitating for an exit before the intra-league transfer market existed.
Totally, and this is a very elegant solution to that pre-existing problem as you describe.
That incentive also makes intra-league transfers more lucrative for players than leaving the league, which is another part of the design.
But every elite player in the league sees this message that there could be a fat bag in it for them to push for the exit door, never mind the tapping up potential here.
The first time one of these deals takes a player from a small market to NY/LA/Miami I think people are going to go "hey, wait a minute..."
You might be right! And in that case, it's up to the CSOs to build a culture where players don't want to leave. Keep adding quality, keep pushing for trophies, and keep lines of communication open.
Yeah I agree. Call it the best of imperfect options. And for this to happen collaboratively and happily with the union is good for everybody. I just feel like the somewhat perverse incentive structure deserves a mention. That's what reply guys are for!
reply guys alone drive the wheel of history
That meme should just be Bocanegra asking "Is this a Miggy Almiron" to every South American Atlanta signed from 2018 on...
"is this MLS 4.0" lol now MLS needs to workshop the u22 rule so teams actually have an option to hold on to good players instead of being forced to sale because of low salary restrictions.
I don't follow the intricacies of MLS roster rules, salary caps, DPs, TAMs... and I don't have the energy to try. So let me ask this. Is there a future where MLS moves away from its salary cap and single entity structure? Will we ever see a day where MLS is structured like the NFL, for example? Or any of the three major sports? Maybe MLS 5.0? Is this even something the owners want in the future?
I’m trying to understand how the cash trades have helped build this up. Why were these types of trades not possible before?
Because teams would never have that much allocation money to toss around given current rules. You'd have to sell at least 3-4 players and get <$4-5 million above what you paid for them to even approach how much Cincinatti paid for Evander. Having teams be able to make deals outside of allocation money is a crucial step to retaining top end talent.
I believe that this is MLS 4.0. Not just the cashfers, but the combination of all of the changes over the past year. I truly believe that we will look back on 23-25 era as the beginning of MLS 4.0 10 years from now. That being said, I hope for an MLS 5.0 that bring about the changes you’re discussing here.
What about simplifying all the Byzantine roster rules and raising the cap significantly? With a soft cap of $6 million, you have to create all these pathways for teams that want to spend to do it and stay within the league parameters. Why not just raise the cap to $40 million?
Am I naive? Will that create an increase in salaries across the board and lead to the players union asking for all teams to pay like the teams at the top? Maybe... but to me, can we really consider the next growth phase of MLS to be the introduction of MORE roster and pay rules? I'd like to think 4.0 will be the simplification of the roster and pay rules so MLS looks more like other leagues. At some point - and I'm not saying it's now - don't the kid gloves have to come off?
MLS has become a top 10 league and club values have absolutely skyrocketed within the framework of the current rules, and so those rules aren't going away any time soon. So yeah, I think you're being a little naive.
I knew it ;)
Agree. It feels like the totality of roster rule changes are leading towards something. Where and how far that will go...I guess we shall see. Either way, MLS 3.0 is the age of experimentation.
Yeah, it's been an age of experimentation and moderate growth. That said, I do wish we were talking about a larger cap with 5 DPs and 5 U22s.
I do sincerely hope MLS 4.0 ends up being a Sam Stejskal rant come to life - just a spending floor/ceiling with a couple of DPs.