Major League Soccer (MLS) roster rules and regulations: Explained

The American football league operates under its own set of regulations

Major League Soccer (MLS) operates under its own set of regulations. This is distinct from other leagues across the world and is not limited to the absence of promotion and relegation.

Even the most seasoned head managers or sports directors may find it challenging to function in the MLS due to the rigid roster requirements and transfer restrictions. Not to mention the fans, who struggle to keep up as clubs transact with GAM, TAM, DPs, and Draft picks.

This is an explanation of the MLS transfer and roster rules to help you make sense of it all.

Roster creation

Schedule slots

There are two categories on an MLS roster: Senior and Supplemental.

A club's pay budget might include up to 20 players. Who are assigned to slots 1 through 20, and who are collectively known as the "Senior Roster."

Clubs may distribute their entire wage budget across the 18 senior spots without being obligated to fill slots 19 and 20. MLS will levy the club a minimum wage budget fee for each position below 18 that remains unfilled.

Additional Roster Spots

The positions 21 through 30 on an MLS roster are categorised as "supplemental" and do not affect a club's budget charge.

A club's Supplemental Roster may contain no more than ten players. With the exception of players with season-ending injuries, those on the injured list, and players on loan. Players from Generation Adidas are Supplementary Roster members for the duration of their contract's original guaranteed term.

Spots for the international roster

There are eight international roster spots for MLS teams. Teams frequently have more or fewer than eight players on their rosters due to the fact that these spots can be swapped for players and Distribution Money.

If a player does not possess US citizenship, another type of legal resident status, or refugee or asylum status, he is regarded as an international player.

An international player will count as a domestic player and forfeit his spot on the international roster if he attends an MLS academy in the year before turning 16. The amount of homegrown players a team can sign each year is unrestricted.

List of Allocation Priority

A club is given first choice to sign a player on the Allocation Ranking List through the allocation process. The players on this list must be returning to the MLS for an outgoing fee of $500k or more and must be members of the United States Men's National Team, selected United States youth internationals, or both.

The Allocation Ranking Order is arranged with expansion clubs at the top in reverse order of the MLS regular season's standings. A club will go back to the bottom of the allocation list once it has used its spot at the top.

However, an amendment to the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations that eliminated the Allocation Ranking List was accepted by the Board of Governors of Major League Soccer. All players who were previously on the Allocation Ranking List will be placed through the MLS Discovery Phase starting right now.

SuperDraft for MLS

The annual selection of young athletes with collegiate and, in some circumstances, non-collegiate backgrounds is known as the MLS SuperDraft. Adidas Generation Players also come with it.

The first pick is given to expansion teams, and the remaining teams make their selections in reverse order of how they finished the previous season.

In January, three picks are given to each team in the SuperDraft.

Also Read: Where and how to watch Major League Soccer (MLS) 2023 in India?

Expansion Draft for MLS

New expansion teams can bolster their rosters in advance of their inaugural season through the MLS Expansion Draft. A team that loses a player in the Expansion Draft is exempt from selection the next year. Expansion teams are permitted to select up to five players (no more than one from each club) from other teams in the league.

Clubs are not obligated to maintain the players they select, and many choose to sell them to other clubs in order to get access to precious Allocation Money.

MLS open enrollment

a system that enables players to enter into contract negotiations with any other club in the league after reaching a specific age or serving a given amount of time with MLS clubs.

reposition windows

The Main Window and Secondary Window are the two transfer windows that MLS uses throughout a campaign. The following are the start and end dates for the 2023 season:

Main Transfer Window (2023): Monday, April 23 to Tuesday, January 31

Secondary Transfer Window (2023): July 5 to August 2

The International Transfer Certificate (ITC) of a player under agreement in another nation may be requested by MLS teams during these times. Also, transactions can be discussed and reached outside of the allotted window. But to add a player to a squad and declare him available for official competitions, they must be transferred and receive an ITC.

All MLS clubs must also conduct all in-season deals within either the Primary Transfer Window or the Secondary Transfer Window.

Adherence to the roster and a roster freeze

When a new season begins, teams must have a compliant roster and spending plan. But, the rosters won't be finalised until six weeks before to Decision Day. Clubs can sign free agents during the period from the Secondary Transfer Window until the Roster Freeze Date.

The following are the roster compliance and freeze dates for 2023:

Deadline for Roster Compliance (2023): February 24 @ 8 p.m. ET

Roster Freeze (2023): September 13, Wednesday

Money Allocation & Designated Players

David Beckham, who joined the LA Galaxy in 2007 and later became the league's first Designated Player, inspired the creation of the DP rule.

In essence, the regulation permits MLS teams to recruit up to three players whose wages and transfer costs will not count towards the league's salary ceiling. This, it is believed, makes MLS clubs increasingly competitive in the global transfer market.

Designated Players only contributed $612,500 to the wage cap in 2022. Of course, in fact, they frequently receive far higher pay.

Moreover, the accompanying Young Designated Player salary budget fee will be applied to any player under the age of 23 who joins the MLS as a DP:

20 years and under: $150,000

Ages 21-23: $200,000

Money Distribution: GAM & TAM

The salary cap will currently be set at $5.2 million per team for the 2023 season, with clubs being permitted to fill three DP positions and spend an additional $1.9 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) and $2.7 million in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).

Also, GAM can be used to reduce a player's Salary Budget Charge or to help defray the cost of signing a player from outside the league. GAM can be traded between MLS teams.

TAM, on the other hand, can be used to sign new players whose salaries and acquisition costs exceed the Highest Salary Budget Charge ($612,500); re-sign existing players whose salaries exceed the Maximum Salary Budget Charge; and convert DPs to non-DPs by buying down their Salary Budget Charges in order to free up a DP slot. Both of these can be turned around.