I don’t think any sign with us and when asked about our first pick going back to College … Nancy said it was a possibility and he didn’t specify other than saying he has a lot of work to do and will see ( I’m paraphrasing) All we know for sure is the players listed yesterday. The team website list all 24 players we named and then Hughes was loaned out putting us at 23. A one year deal for a back up RWB would make me feel better even if we trade for someone. The current window is still open so until April 23rd we could see MLS deals or players from outside the league. So we got 2 months to figure it out and then we have to wait till July 18th before the secondary window opens ( for about a month aug14th it’s over) Rosters lock in roughly five weeks before Decision Day (October 19). Between the Secondary Transfer Window and Roster Freeze Date( which you mentioned is Sept13th),clubs can sign out-of-contract free agents.
Right. Also, the current MLS transfer window is open until April 23. The summer window opens July 18 and closes August 14.
The transfer windows only apply to players coming from another federation, don't they? We could make a trade within MLS or buy a player from USL in June if we want, right? Are trades with Canadian clubs restricted or does MLS's dual certification from USSF and CSA allow intra-league trades in June?
If you make a deal outside of the window they can’t join the team until the window opens it’s simple. If a player is not under contract you have to do it by the dates we listed Roster Freeze: Friday, September 13 ^ Clubs with their first regular-season match on February 21 – Inter Miami CFand Real Salt Lake – must be roster and budget compliant by February 20. All other clubs must be roster and budget compliant by February 23. Rosters lock in roughly five weeks before Decision Day (October 19). Between the Secondary Transfer Window and Roster Freeze Date, clubs can sign out-of-contract free agents.
Who sets transfer windows, the USSF and CSA or MLS? If the latter, could they set it up like the NFL where trades are allowed all the way from the start of the League Year in the offseason until the trade deadline or would they get declared outlaw by FIFA for not having the European-style two windows with an in-season blackout period?
For the former, I thought they were set by FIFA. As for the latter, maybe someone smarter than me can chime in.
Allow me to do my Cliff Claven impression. The transfer window, which is officially called the registration period, is set by the national federations, per FIFA rules.
Are most of the federations in UEFA and elsewhere synched on the same schedule for their windows by mutual agreement or something, considering it would be a nightmare if each federation had their own individual windows?
Fifa mandates a 12 week and a 30 day window for international transfers. Individual leagues and federations will have their own internal rules about transfers within a league/federation.
And the European windows don't have to be the same. For a few year stretch precovid England's window closed at the start of the season while every other European country kept it the same. It also caused England to have to open the window in late May before the FA Cup Final. Teams could have had an international transfer but could not register that player for the FA Cup Final squad. Turkey is open for a week after most countries. Saudi Arabia is 10 days. Countries like Belgium and Croatia its like 1-3 days after.
Saw a tweet about this and found this link. Garber will meet with 12 owners in Miami to talk about changing the roster rules, although he did not elaborate if it was for this or next season. Garber was very firm in stating, “I can name the players that couldn’t join the league due to the roster rules on my hand.” https://www.google.com/amp/s/bolavi...how-messi-is-feeling-20240226-BUS-107547.html
That's the worst writing I've seen in a long time. Just terrible. As for the Don, I really have no idea what that even means and the author makes no effort to explain it.
We know from other reporting that the league initiated a top down review of its roster rules over a year ago, and that there will be some grand reveal to owners at the MLS ASG here in Columbus. The initial goal being to implement some changes going into 2025. There are, of course, no details about what any of this means, but that won’t stop the speculation. Todd Durban’s comments, two weeks ago, seemed to emphasize the dividends already being paid from the league’s investment in academies and MLSNP. He also noted the number of younger players being brought into the league from abroad, that the average age was down to about 24. I’m curious what names Don is referring to, but I’m guessing (certainly hoping) that they’re mostly 20-24 year old players with terrific pedigrees, and not a bunch of aged stars wanting to spend the twilights of their careers jogging around the pitch in Miami or LA.
Well of course the meeting at the All Star Game is the league's semi-annual Board of Governors pmeeting. (The other one is at MLS Cup). They don't advertise this because they don't want the fans demonstrating for one thing or another. But if it's being formally presented at the ASG meeting it's because they're going to vote on something. They can pass info around via an email. The BoG is for making decisions. As for their intentions, I think your first posit is correct: they've now proven that they can attract young players, particularly from South America, as a stepping stone to the really big follars/euros/pounds in Europe, and its incredibly lucrative. Our billionaire masters very much like lucrative. And those guys, while they do make some money for the team, make a lot more for MLS.LLC, ie our billionaire masters. So if they're tinkering with the rules it's because they want more of that lovely money. The old guys on their retirement tours are fun and all but they cost, they don't earn. Nobody is going to make a dime selling on Suarez or Busquets or even Messi. Messi brings eyeballs for Apple and they like that but keeping Tim Cook in trafficked teen girls is one thing, turning over some hotshot Argie for $20 million is a whole nother kettle of fish entirely. Now in fact this is a stone positive for us. Or most of us. Jimmy, and others, will happily step up to the table and put big money down on a chance at hitting it big on whomever Bez can entice to come here. Some other owners - we all know who they are - will be content to ride the wave and suck up ROI but the aggressive, competitive guys will be all in. And we've got one of those .
FWIW, MLS revenue went up SIGNIFICANTLY last year: Year, Total Revenue, Rev/Team 2022: €1.479 billion, €52.8 million 2023: €1.892 billion, €65.2 million MLS continues to be 10th amongst all sports leagues in total revenue (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL + Big 5 Euros: ENG, ESP, GER, ITA, FRA). And 6th amongst all soccer leagues. But the jump from last year now has MLS closer to Ligue 1's €2.026 billion than 11th placed Nippon Baseball League from Japan at €1.506 billion. Now, of course, with 29 teams, MLS suffers in terms of rankings of revenue per team. In 2022, MLS ranked 15th amongst all leagues at €52.8 mil per team. And 8th amongst soccer leagues. Behind the above 9, Indian Crricket, Japanese baseball, Aussie football, and Brazil & Chinese soccer. After 2023's rise to €65.2 mil, MLS is up to 13th, leapfrogging Aussie football and both Brazil & Chinese soccer. Still only 7th in terms of soccer leagues, as the Russian league somehow leapfrogged us (do we trust those numbers?) at €65.6 mil. The next closest soccer leagues in terms of mean revenue per team are Brazil at €56 mil, Bundesliga2 at €48.2, and the Eredivisie at €34.9 mil. And keep in mind, these are mean values. MLS is more egalutarian due to the salary cap and the other leagues more top heavy. If one were to take MEDIAN revenue per team, we are assuredly above the Russians. League1 may be a bridge too far, as their mean is €112.5. The Messi revenue wave probably crests this year. IDK where MLS is in terms of salaries and transfer spending, but I believe top 15 (top 20 at worst) amongst soccer leagues. And that was 2022 numbers. And the rules likely hold us back some here. Point being, MLS is probably facing some pressure, both from the Players Union and the bigger clubs, to loosen the reigns a bit on spending/roster rules. And it looks like they can afford it. How much? And how? Who knows? But some.
Russian league is basically run by oil and gas companies and the government/military (ex: CSKA). Lots of money to get players to come, plus they pay a fortune to Russian players to keep them home.
Either that or the roster rules are written on his hand. Judging by the roster thread here, those rules are either written in font size one OR he has a really huge hand.
The increased revenue is great, as long as profits are also on the rise(or loses are lowering year to year). It's possible that MLS team expenses have risen faster than revenue over the last few years. Our boy Dong, will never let info. out to the public regarding that nasty p-word, profit. I would think many of the MLS investor/operators have some serious debt racked up, along with increased expenses. The new stadiums and investment in better players/higher salaries doesn't come cheap. All of the newer investor/operators also paid major entry fees just to join the league, except for Austin.....Some say the entry fee for expansion teams is now $500million. I wonder how the ponzi scheme is actually working financially for investor/operators like Lindner in Cincinnati?
If anyone trust financial numbers coming out of Russia or China then I got some great crypto for you to buy!
Attendence and transfer spending & revenue are also up, as are franchise valuations. While not necessarily indicative of higher profulits, those are good signs. Revenue: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_sports_leagues_by_revenue Attendance: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_professional_sports_leagues Transfer Spending/Mean&Median Club value: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/messi/messi-in-miami-where-does-mls-stand-in-the-big-picture Transfer Spending & Transfer Income (article form Sept 2023) Last 8 windows: 8th & 19th Last 6: 8th & 14th Last 4: 8th & 15th This is pre-Messi revenue coming in. Median & Mean Team Value: Median: 8th Mean: 14th And those numbers are BEFORE the big jump in revenue and franchise values for 2023 reflected here: https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/me...-since-stars-arrival-20240125-WST-485407.html Damnit, I cannot find the post about MLS franchise values being up 20% league wide over last year. As as Bill would point out, team profits in MLS are a bit of a shell game, as SUM & other entities make the $$$.
Finally found the tweet: Interesting @Sportico report today.According to MLS, season ticket sales for the 2024 season are up 15% compared to 2023, with ticket revenue up 25%. StubHub also shared that sales of MLS tickets have increased significantly, seven times larger than in 2023. League… pic.twitter.com/zMNHWGLxfp— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) February 21, 2024 Summary: 2024 Tickets sales +15% to '23 Ticket revenue +25% StubHub MLS sales 7x higher League sponsorship +18% Club sponsorship +13% MLS online sales +44%