SoccerMLS salary cap unlikely to go up considerably

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Say what you want about the injustice of the MLS pay structure, the imbalance of rights in favour of the league and the lack of job security afforded to the players. The league has been successful because it has been able to keep its expenses, in the form of players’ wages, under control.

While information as to the progress of the negotiations has been sparse, speculation came out last week that the salary cap, currently $2.3 million per team per season, will increase to $2.6 million under the new collective bargaining agreement.

If that speculation proves to be true, the increase is a smart one in my opinion.

In order to attract fans, teams need to sign talented players. The more talented the player, the higher his salary; it is not a difficult concept to grasp.

The problem for MLS has always been that a salary cap of $2.3 million does not allow for much wiggle room when it comes to recruiting talented players. Tying up three players at or near the league maximum of $415,000 takes up over half of the cap space.

Increasing the cap by $300,000 will allow teams to add one more quality player, improve a few players’ contracts considerably, or make modest increases to all contracts across the board. Regardless, it is a step in the right direction.

Some will question whether the increase is big enough to have an effect on player quality, and that is a valid point. A more sizeable increase would certainly allow for teams to add more quality to their squads.

However, calls for a doubling of the salary cap are naïve. For every success story, like TFC and Seattle, there are also teams who are struggling to make money, like Columbus and Kansas City.
Major League Soccer is gaining momentum, and the success of recent expansion teams has given the league a blueprint going forward. Seattle was successful in part because they followed many of the principles put in place by MLSE in Toronto, and it is not unreasonable to expect the same sort of success in Philadelphia, Portland and Vancouver when they join the league over the next two seasons.

Drastically increasing the salary cap could have a negative effect on that momentum by putting further strain on the struggling franchises. Teams who are already losing money under the current salary cap will be very reluctant to significantly increase that cap, knowing that they have little chance of recouping that investment.

I’m also not convinced that a significant cap increase will have a proportionate effect on the quality of play in MLS.

If the cap goes up dramatically, the top players will be looking for a similar increase in their own compensation. I’m not talking about the players who are already earning the non-designated player maximum – the league can easily mandate that that number doesn’t go up; it is the players who are earning just below that who will be looking for more money.

Players can make all the noises they want about looking after their lowest-paid colleagues during CBA negotiations, but in reality, players do whatever they can to maximize their own salary. An increase in the salary cap will see all players, even the ones who already earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, going cap in hand looking for an improved contract.

While I’m on the topic of league mandates, the league should also implement an increase in the minimum salary, as well. That, more than any increase in the salary cap, would truly look after the lowest-paid players.

We will have to wait for some more information about the CBA negotiations, as the league and the union have been tight-lipped about the progress made so far. The only announcements that have been forthcoming from either side have been about the extension of the negotiating deadline, currently set at February 25th.

Whatever agreement the two sides eventually come to over an increase in the salary cap, you can be sure of one thing; Don Garber won’t be risking the owners’ fortunes by drastically increasing the cap.

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