CBA Ratifaction Released by Players Union

The collective bargaining agreement between MLS and the MLS Players Union has been ratified by the players and the details of the agreement have been released to the public. Despite some players and media members believing that the CBA was too lop-sided in favor of the owners, 91% of players agreed to ratify the contents.

The biggest addition to the CBA was the creation of a form of free agency. MLS players can now become free agents assuming they are at least 28 years of age and have played 8 years in the league. There aren't many players who would currently be able to take advantage of this free agency, but it appears to be progress towards more open player movement. There has also been an increase in the minimum salary for players in addition to an increase in the amount of guaranteed contracts that will be available.

The salary cap has also been increased, although not by much. It will increase by 12.5% next year and 5% every subsequent year. The overall numbers still seem relatively small for a league trying to attract big name talent, but hopefully the addition of Targeted Allocation Money will somewhat solve that problem.

The full text and all details of the ratification can be found here.