(Weird that the rest of this article didn’t post the first time.)

There’s nothing good about a labor dispute, and the recent gap between MLS owners and players looked to be pretty devastating.  On one hand, the league only has a couple of profitable teams, and despite it’s slow and steady growth, still regularly plays in front of crowds smaller than WNBA crowds.  Meanwhile, while some of the MLS stars make a very good 6 or 7 figure wage, you still have a lot of players making $30k a year on non-guaranteed contracts.

It was a situation where both sides had valid gripes, and with the start of the season looming, things looked bleak.  But instead of taking a page out of the NBA and MLB playbook of, “Screw the fans, let’s stick to our guns,” the MLS and its players actually got the deal done.  Score one for common sense.  All the owners and players who gave a little to get a lot should be commended for their solutions oriented approach.

Soccer By Ives has a good recap of the high points of the deal.  Here are some bullets from that article (and my uneducated additions in italics):

• The MLS salary cap will increase from $2.315 million to $2.55 million and will increase by 5% each season thereafter.  (Small win for players, tolerable for owners who should expect revenues to increase by some small % every year.  Players would have liked a bigger win here, but gave up some of their ask when they realized “something” is greater than “zero.”)
• The CBA provides for guaranteed contracts for all players 24 years old or older with three years of MLS service. (Big win for players, tough concession for owners.  You could see teams stick with bad or injured players longer, since the team has to pay them anyway, and stay under a salary cap.  Good for current players, bad for those hoping to get a job.)
• Minimum salaries for senior roster players will increase from $34,000 in 2009 to $40,000 in 2010, with an increase of 5 percent each year thereafter. (Win for some players, not a big concession for owners.)
• Player Contracts will now have a limit on the number of option years they can have. The limit is two option years for players who are at least 25 and have four years of MLS service. All other contracts can have up to three option years. (Win for players)
• MLS will establish a Re-Entry Draft. Players eligible for the draft include those whose options were not exercised, those whose contracts were terminated and those whose contracts expired.  (Good middle ground here.  Free Agent would kill the league, because everyone would want to come play in from of 32,000 people in Seattle.  But players were getting killed by getting cut, but not having their contracts renewed, but not having the right to sign with a new team.  Good agreement here.)
• Players whose annual compensation is less than $125,000, the minimum base salary increase will be 10% for players who play in at least 66 percent of his club’s games and 12.5 percent for players who play in at least 75 percent of club’s games. (Players win)
• Increases in 401K contributions by the league, appearance fees, per diem and relocation expense reimbursement. Among the addtional player benefits in the CBA are full health care benefits for every player and his family at no cost, 401K contributions and expanded insurance benefits. (Players win)
• Bonuses for wins and exhibitions. The CBA includes a package of bonuses for wins in MLS games and international tournaments, as well as appearance fees for international exhibitions. (Common sense, players win.)
• The sides will establish a joint committee to study the re-launch of a Reserve Division. In the event the rosters are expanded, the salary for those players will be a minimum of $31,250, with additional annual increases. (Basically this says no decision has to be made.  if the league starts to profit, they’ll build a reserve division and there will be more jobs.  if the league doesn’t turn a profit, no new jobs for players.)

Now let’s go Sounders.