Major League Soccer Is Committed to Spending More on Players

Adopted last summer so teams could add an additional high-priced signing without going over the per-team limit of three Designated Players, TAM funds will be increased to $800,000 per team for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Gaston Sauro (Columbus Crew SC) and Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes) were signed with TAM money which allowed their salaries to be paid down to fit under the maximum salary budget charge of $457,500. The HGP money gives teams a significantly bigger pool from which to pay promising academy players without them hitting the salary cap.

The league also is allowing teams to spend $125,000 each year on homegrown players.

Major League Soccer will commit an additional $37 million in league-wide player compensation over the next two seasons, the league announced Wednesday.

The Designated Player program, in particular, has enabled a vast influx of high-profile talent since David Beckham’s arrival in 2007, with total annual DP expenditure mushrooming from $32 million in 2011 to $115 million in 2015.

In a press release, MLS deputy commissionerMark Abbott said, “We saw immediate dividends this past season with the initial investment in Targeted Allocation Money, and our owners believe that additional spending – especially for players who will impact the middle of our rosters – will make MLS even more entertaining and compelling”.

To do so, teams must increase the quality of players on their roster and that means spending money.

“If you look at our rosters, most teams have between five and six high-quality players, ” Durbin said.

MLS also has earmarked $2 million a year toward bolstering Homegrown Player salaries. The maximum budget charge next season for non-designated players is $457,500.

In all, MLS Executive Vice President for Player Relations and Competition Todd Durbin says, there were 10 teams spending at least $7 million on player payroll and four spending at least $15 million.

Teams can carry over the 2016 money to 2017, but not the other way around. Each club will receive the same amount of additional TAM funds over the next two seasons. Orlando City now has three designated players – Kaká and young DPs Carlos Rivas and Bryan Róchez – and could also use the TAM to buy those players down to add a new designated player. Either Targeted Allocation Money or general Allocation Money may be used on a player in a single season, not both. The 2016 chunk must be committed by the conclusion of the 2017 secondary transfer window, while the 2017 portion must be committed by the conclusion of the 2018 secondary window. If Targeted Allocation Money is used to free up a Designated Player slot, the club must simultaneously sign a new Designated Player at an investment equal to or greater than the player he is replacing.

·Targeted Allocation Money and general Allocation Money may not be used in combination when signing or re-signing a player, or when buying down the budget charge of a Designated Player. The point is to funnel more money to lesser-known players who, combined with the stars, will conspire to actually improve the play on the field.

With a minimum of $1.6 million in extra money to spend now, it will be interesting to see how general manager Dave Kasper and coach Ben Olsen decide to use the additional funds.