MLS has invoked their force majeure clause from the CBA that was negotiated just before MLS Is Back. So, the PA and MLS will need to agree to modifications in the next 30 days or agree to a new one before the 2021 season can begin. https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...-force-majeure-clause-to-terminate-cba-source
Well, there's no way to spin this positively. But from a fan's perspective, we were unlikely to be able to attend games at 100% capacity until spring or maybe summer. And from a Crew fan's perspective, well, we only assumed we'd be playing a handful of home games before July, anyway. The MLSPA's response to this will be very telling.
The PA told them not to do this and warned of dire consequences. Its not like the owners are stumbling blindly into a work stoppage. They knew exactly what the deal was and have obviously accepted it. This is just not good. Both sides are dug in and ready to fight. Dammit.
I'd be lying if I said I had the slightest idea what was going on with this, or what it means going forward. There's been enough crap happening in the last nine months; keeping up the the MLS CBA hasn't been high on my list of priorities.
If you'd like the thumbnail, its simple: the owners want the players to share the pain. The owners have lost a fortune. Garber says a billion dollars and he may not to that far off. So they want salary concessions. Big ones. 20% 30%. We don't know the number. But its a lot and the players are not.inclined to go along.
I suppose this could guarantee that the new stadium's first game won't be in front of partial attendance. In 2020, I think we all need any shred of positive news amplified, right?
Plus, this is on top of the concessions the players gave when MLS owners renegotiated the approved, but not finalized CBA (The one negotiated in Jan 2020), for MLS Is Back in June.
Didn't MLB have basically the same problem this/last season? I have to agree with the owners on this one. MLS isn't exactly a cash cow to begin with. I don't see how they can continue to pay all the salary when they're losing the overwhelming majority of the revenue.
Well, except that we don't know what the owners are asking for at this point. Sounds like they'll present something to players soon, and the sides will have 30 days to come to an agreement. If that doesn't happen, the owners could terminate the CBA that was agreed to earlier this year. They might not, but they could. I'm no expert in this area, by any means. But I would imagine the players might be hesitant to want to agree to something that runs too many years. 2020 was a disaster. And 2021 will be financially tainted, as well. But 2022, 2023? The agreement they came to a year ago ran through January 2025. Here's hoping both sides see the overall shittiness of the situation and see what they each have to lose by failing to come to an agreement.
And I think this was a sticking point in earlier negotiations... I believe that it was MLS (but maybe it was MLB) that was seeking a pay cut from the players to help ease the COVID revenue pains but the wording on the owners' proposal made the cuts a part of the permanent agreement for the full term of the CBA instead of a temporary reduction that would be lifted when COVID issues were resolved.
If I'm the PA, I don't aggree to anything beyond 2022 or the deal must be contingent upon the new media rights which expire at the end of 2022. If we give now, you give it back and then some when the new media deal comes into play in 2023.
Well, I've never collectively bargained for anything, but it would seem to me that if the pandemic is the major monkeywrench into everything that's happening, it wouldn't make sense for either side to sign a deal for more than one year. Whatever happens in 2021 is just a "let's get through this" deal, and then once things normalize, get back to business.
I hope that both sides remember all of the low-level franchise and head office employees that lost their jobs due to Covid and keep in mind there is more on the table than player salaries. That said, MLS isn't like MLB/NFL where contract negotiations are a battle between millionaires and billionaires. The majority of players don't have much salary to give up.
That's true, but without doing the research, I would guess that MLS gets a smaller percentage of revenue from TV contracts than any of the other North American leagues. Thus, they're more dependent on gate receipts -- which aren't there. You can't pay all the money out if there isn't money coming in. So it's either reduce payroll, or we have to wait until the pandemic is over to start playing matches again. It's certainly true that most MLS-ers aren't exactly breaking the bank, but it's still probably better to get paid than to not get paid.
And players for most European clubs gave back part of their salaries to help their clubs in this crisis. I just hope MLS is not using the same person/firm that came up with the changes to minor league baseball that MLB imposed.
I have to think this will make it difficult to sign any players. "We'd love to have you play for us at 70% of the salary we're offering (TBD)."
This will effect the attractiveness of MLS for the next year or two. Does Lucas Zelarayan take a 30% cut when he could go back to Mexico and make a lot more? Does Gonzalo Higuain take a cut when options exist in Europe? I pray this doesn’t lead to the days of hoping Chad McCarty can stick with his man. Crap soccer is more identifiable these days. It’s a messy situation for sure.
On the surface it appears MLS, and the investor/operators, have a legitimate issue, right? Their finances have been wrecked by the pandemic. How can they pay the players anywhere near full salaries and survive, with the loses from 2020 and the prospect of the same conditions for half of the 2021 season? But then you remember you are dealing with garber and MLS. What financial information will be released? How accurate is the information released? What information won't be released? This could get really bad, really quick. The players probably do need to take a pay cut for the survival of the league. the typical MLS/SUM lack of transparency will probably make this situation drag out for a really long time.
Can the league afford to have a discount rate 2021 and 2022 season when they are looking to improve the monies for their new media deal? Worse product on the field will lead to worse offer for the rights... of course, MLS is probably banking on the improved USMNT play to offer up their coattails for a package deal...
I think they can. Most reasonable people understand that the current circumstances aren't going to continue for very much longer. It's possible that TV revenue may be affected in 2021, but once things start cranking up again, things should normalize.