NEW YORK - (February 8, 2021) – Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Players Association today finalized a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement, covering the next seven years from 2021 through 2027, has been ratified by the MLS Board of Governors and the membership of the MLSPA.
MLS and the MLSPA and players worked together to address the major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the League in 2021 and beyond. The primary terms of the new CBA, which are summarized below, include:
Starting in the 2026 season, players 24 and older with at least four years of MLS service at the end of their contracts are eligible to become free agents within MLS, providing players at an earlier stage of their careers with opportunities to negotiate with and move to different MLS clubs.