Sounders protest MLS's Club World Cup player payout cap, backed by MLSPA

New York Times

2 days ago

Seattle Sounders players took the field ahead of their match against Minnesota United Sunday night wearing protest T-shirts, expressing their disapproval of their potential prize money allocation for the upcoming Club World Cup. The Sounders, along with Inter Miami and – after Saturday night's play-in win over Club América – LAFC, will participate in the tournament, which kicks off on June 14.
Advertisement
Seattle players warmed up for the match wearing shirts emblazoned with a pair of slogans: 'Club World Ca$h Grab' and 'Fair Share Now.' The Emerald City Supporters, the primary supporters' group of the Sounders, joined the protest as well, chanting the slogans along with a more pointed message: 'you dirty greedy bastards.'
All three MLS clubs taking part in the tournament will receive $9.55 million simply for qualifying, the standard allocation set aside by FIFA for any club from Concacaf. That sum grows as teams advance through the tournament, with teams earning $2 million for every win and $1 million for a draw. Simply advancing out of the tournament's group stage would garner another $7.5 million. It is a potentially massive windfall for any MLS team, many of whom lose money every year.
Players, though, are only guaranteed a fraction of that prize pool. The collective bargaining agreement between MLS and its players stipulates specific bonus payouts for tournaments that MLS players typically compete in, like the U.S. Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup. Their share of the prize pool from tournaments which aren't specifically addressed is capped at $1 million. The Club World Cup was still years from being announced when the CBA was ratified in 2021.
Player payouts in other leagues vary, and Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei addressed the disparity with The Seattle Times in March.
'If you're going to be on the field and playing against an opponent that's making $700,000 for the same appearance, then you're asking yourself, 'Did we earn the right to play in this game?' If so, I'm not asking for $700,000, but it's a big, big, big difference,' Frei said.
The MLSPA, the labor union that represents MLS players, released its own statement on Sunday, expressing support for Seattle's cause and touching on long-standing concerns with the physical workload placed on MLS players by the sport's ever-expanding schedule.
Advertisement
'FIFA's new tournament piles on to players' ever-increasing workload without regard to their physical well-being. In order to seize this additional calendar territory, FIFA had to commit historic amounts of prize money to secure club and player participation. As a result, MLS will receive an unprecedented windfall. Despite this windfall, the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves.'
The MLSPA and all MLS players stand united with the Seattle Sounders players who tonight demanded a fair share of the FIFA Club World Cup prize money. #FairShareNow #FIFACWC
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/AAVyGYehxH
— MLSPA (@MLSPA) June 1, 2025
The statement also says that the MLSPA's members have 'privately and respectfully' invited the league to discuss a potential renegotiation of bonus terms for the Club World Cup but says the league has simply referred them to the terms of the CBA.
'It is the players who make the game possible,' read the statement. 'It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect.'
The Sounders will play all three of their group games in the Club World Cup at home, against Botafogo, Atlético Madrid and newly crowned UEFA Champions League winner PSG.