The book can finally be closed on the saga around MLS players' share of the Club World Cup bonuses now that details of the new deal have come to light. The new agreement results in players getting at least 40% more than they had previously been guaranteed under the CBA. The deal was first reported by The Athletic and was independently confirmed by Sounder at Heart.
For the Sounders, that means the players will get $1.4 million to share amongst themselves. The existing Collective Bargaining Agreement had guaranteed that they'd receive $1 million, but that deal was made before anyone knew of the $1 billion Club World Cup prize pool or that each Concacaf team would receive $9.55 million plus tens of millions more in potential performance bonuses, a previously unprecedented prize for any team in the region.
Although the players and league agreed that some re-negotiation was in order, they differed wildly on what they thought was fair. After months of what they felt were tepid negotiations, the Sounders players publicly protested. About a week later and with the Club World Cup about to start, the players rejected an offer from the league to keep the guaranteed money the same but offering a 30% cut of any performance bonuses.
The negotiations ultimately spanned the tournament's group stage before an agreement was reached just before Inter Miami was set to play in the Round of 16 that gave every team more from the guaranteed pool as well as 30% of any performance bonuses with no cap. The Sounders received $400,000 more than they had previously been guaranteed despite losing all three of their matches; LAFC players received a $1.25 million guarantee, a $250,000 bonus for winning the play-in game against Club America and $300,000 for their one tie against Flamengo for a total of $1.8 million; and Inter Miami players received $1.25 million from the guarantee, and an additional $3.45 million from performance bonuses for a total of $4.7 million.
This could be just a warmup for negotiations over the next CBA. The current agreement is set to expire in 2028 but may need to be significantly altered before then if MLS moves ahead with plans to switch to a fall-to-spring schedule.
