Claiming the league and union remain “far apart” in CBA negotiations, MLS announced Friday morning that if there’s no new deal by the close of Feb. 4, then it will terminate the current labor agreement and lock out the players. That would constitute the first work stoppage MLS’s 25-year history.
The league’s statement came following the end of a 30-day negotiating window that was opened by the invoking of a force majeure clause in the current CBA. Facing another year of heavy losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, MLS offered to pay players 100% of their salaries in 2021 in exchange for a two-year extension to the CBA through 2027.