If and when Major League Soccer returns this summer, the league and the MLS Players Association must work out an agreement. It’s as simple as that.
MLS has made a proposal to the the union about salary reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN reported on Monday. The league seeks a 20-percent pay cut for every player, sources told the website.
The league, which is celebrating its 25th season this year, also has asked for more financial reductions beyond salary cuts for the 2020 campaign, ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle and Noah Davis reported. If MLSPA agrees, that could very well run into tens of millions of dollars.
“MLS continues to engage in productive conversations with the MLSPA over ways in which we can collectively address challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott told ESPN.
The MLSPA did not respond to ESPN for comment.
On a handful of weeks into the season on March 12, the league suspended play due to the pandemic and Tuesday will mark the two-month anniversary of the shutdown.