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Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Seattle Sounders Players Accuse MLS Of Club World Cup Cash Grab
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 01: Cristian Roldan #7 of the Seattle Sounders walks onto the field for ... More warm ups before the game against the Minnesota United FC at Lumen Field on June 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) Seattle Sounders players wore t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Club World Cash Grab' ahead of their game against Minnesota United on Sunday night, as they seek bonuses more in fitting with the prize money received by clubs' participation in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. The 's' was stylised as a dollar sign to represent the lucrative amounts of money on offer to clubs in the tournament, which players feel is out of step with the latest collective bargaining agreement between the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) and Major League Soccer (MLS). The players were quickly backed by the MLSPA, who had prepared a statement and released it to coincide with the unveiling of the t-shirts worn pre-match. '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,' read the MLSPA statement. '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 financial windfall. Despite this windfall, the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves.' SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 01: Captains Michael Boxall #15 of Minnesota United and Stefan Frei #24 ... More of Seattle Sounders pose with referees before the MLS match on June 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) The Sounders qualified for the now expanded and quadrennial Club World Cup on the back of their landmark Concacaf Champions League victory in 2022. The latest collective bargaining agreement was last updated in 2021, prior to the Sounders' qualification for the Club World Cup and before the United States was confirmed as the tournament's host. As a result, Club World Cup bonus payments are not specifically mentioned by name in the current CBA, as other tournaments outside of MLS, such as the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Leagues Cup, the Campeones Cup, the US Open Cup, and the Canadian Championship are. The relevant wording in the current CBA for non-specific tournaments, applicable to the Club World Cup, is: 'If an MLS Team or MLS receives prize money by virtue of the Team's performance and/or participation in a Compulsory Tournament or Non-Compulsory Tournament, players competing in that tournament will receive the following: If the Team or MLS receives prize money, fifty percent (50%) of such prize money up to a maximum payment to the Players (collectively) of $1,000,000 per tournament.' The prize money on offer at the Club World Cup means the MLS teams involved will receive at least $9.55 million just for participation, and this could rise depending on results in group stage matches. A team qualifying for the knockout rounds would receive an additional $7.5 million, meaning a prize pot could soon reach $20 million for any team that progresses from its group. Inter Miami and Los Angeles FC join the Sounders as MLS representatives in the tournament, and though they will be underdogs in their respective groups, the $9.55 million for participation alone is substantial, and far more than the prize money MLS receives in any other tournament. This is where the maximum of $1 million in bonuses to be shared among an entire team begins to look paltry in comparison to the money the clubs and the league will receive. If there was no $1 million limit and the 50% arrangement remained in place, the guaranteed bonus pool from the $9.55 million would amount to over $4,7 million shared out between the players. It is for this reason that the players believe the Club World Cup renders the CBA out of date with regards to bonuses, and are looking to come to an agreement with the league in relation to this tournament. 'For months, the players have privately and respectfully invited the league to discuss bonus terms, yet MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal,' the MLSPA added in its statement. 'Instead of recognizing the players who have brought MLS to the global stage, the league—which routinely asks the PA to deviate from the CBA—is clinging to an out-of-date CBA provision and ignoring longstanding international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA prize money in global competitions. 'It is the players who make the game possible. It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect.' Players are being asked to play more games than ever before, and with all the money swilling around in the game, especially at the top level, it is only right that they seek their fair share for the additional work. A players' association, such as the MLSPA, is important in a league like MLS where a salary cap is in place and the amount most players can earn is artificially limited by that cap and other roster rules and restrictions. The players' issue is not with the Club World Cup itself, but with MLS for not coming to an agreement regarding bonus payments from what is an unusually lucrative tournament for its teams.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Sounders players protest MLS's Club World Cup ‘cash grab', fair player payments ahead of match
MLS players are not letting the fight over Club World Cup bonuses go away. The Seattle Sounders held a player protest over the issue Sunday ahead of their match with Minnesota United, wearing shirts that read, 'World Cup Cash Grab.' 'FAIRSHARE NOW' was written across the back of the shirts. Every member of the Sounders squad wore the shirts during warmups. 3 Cristian Roldan walks onto the field before the Seattle Sounders' match June 1. Getty Images The shirts were in protest to MLS players' concerns over the cut of bonuses they'll receive from their participation in the upcoming Club World Cup, set to begin later this month in the United States. Inter Miami, the Sounders and LAFC will all represent MLS in the 32-team tournament, and FIFA announced in March that MLS teams would get $9.5 million alone just for participating. There are also additional bonuses for teams when they win or tie, setting up the possibility for the MLS clubs in the tournament to come away with large sums of money from the Club World Cup. 3 Seattle Sounders players warm up before their match June 1. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect However, a clause in the current MLS collective bargaining agreement — Article 10.8 — limits how much players get from non-MLS tournaments, which caps it at 50 percent of the tournament prize or up to $1 million. '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. 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 amount of prize money to secure club and player participation. As a result, MLS will receive an unprecedented financial windfall,' the MLS Players Association said in a statement in support of the Sounders' protest. 3 Seattle Sounders players jog onto the field for warmups before their June 1 match. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect 'Despite the windfall, the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves. For months, the players have privately and respectfully invited the league to to discuss bonus terms, yet MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal. Instead of recognizing the players who have brought MLS to the global stage, the league — which routinely asks the PA to deviate from the CBA — is clinging to an out-of-date CBA provisions and ignoring longstanding international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA prize money in global competitions. 'It is the players who make the game possible. It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect.' MLS did not have a comment when reached by The Post. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post. The Sounders begin the group stage of the tournament on June 15 when they face the Brazilian club Botafogo at Lumen Field in Seattle.
New York Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why Club World Cup's significant bonus money won't trickle down to MLS players
The Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami — and possibly LAFC, if FIFA opts for a play-in game between the 2022 MLS Cup champs and Club America — will get a windfall this summer when the MLS teams compete in FIFA's expanded Club World Cup. FIFA announced that each participating Concacaf team will receive $9.55 million for taking part in the tournament. That figure increases with every positive result. Teams get another $2 million for every win and $1 million for every draw. Advertisement Should an MLS team advance out of the group stage — far from a guarantee, but a possibility nonetheless — that club would be due another payment of $7.5 million. The prizes continue for each advancing round. For MLS teams that still struggle to break even, and with many of them losing money, that sort of payout is a massive boost. For the players on those teams, however, there will be significantly fewer riches to be gained by participating in the tournament. According to the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in February 2021, MLS players will be paid a maximum of $1 million in prize money from the highly lucrative tournament. The cap comes from section 10.8 of the CBA, which defines tournament bonus pools. That section lays out payouts for known tournaments, like the U.S. Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup. What it didn't account for at the time was a new FIFA-run tournament with unprecedented prize pools. Thus, players are limited by a carve out for compulsory and non-compulsory tournaments. The exact language reads: If an MLS Team or MLS receives prize money by virtue of the Team's performance and/or participation in a Compulsory Tournament or Non-Compulsory Tournament (other than the tournaments set forth above i.e., USOC, Canadian Championship, CCL, Campeones Cup, Leagues Cup), Players competing in that tournament will receive the following: (a) If the Team or MLS receives prize money, fifty percent (50%) of such prize money up to a maximum payment to the Players (collectively) of $1,000,000 per tournament. The MLS Players Association recently reached out to MLS to engage in discussions about the bonuses, per a league source, however no formal discussions have yet taken place and no movement has occurred beyond what is spelled out in the CBA. If each team maxed out its roster at the MLS limit of 30 players, that would amount to $33,333 per player. That bonus would not be reflected in a player's salary budget charge. Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, who is the team's player rep with the MLSPA, told The Seattle Times he hoped 'the compensation part gets settled with the PA and what not, but I'm really excited about the opportunity to compete and play against these big teams.' It is an unfortunate set of circumstances for the players, as this level of prize money is unprecedented in club soccer, especially for an MLS side. It simply wasn't something that could have been anticipated. Whether MLS sees it the same way, or feels any sort of obligation to budge, remains to be seen. Advertisement Interestingly, this comes at a time when the league is weighing flipping the calendar to a fall-spring format, something that would require MLSPA approval. A calendar change would mostly suit players, especially if it's paired with roster rule and spending changes, but will also come with hardships related especially to training in colder weather. At minimum, this comes at a time in which fostering collaboration between the players and league is at a premium.
