MLS players approve new CBA, avoiding season lockout

Atlanta United fans won’t have to worry about a season lockout when Major League Soccer returns.

The MLS Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday. The new deal lasts through Jan 31, 2026 and ensures there won’t be a lockout.

Here is the statement released by the association:

MLS and the union had been negotiating salary cuts. Sources told the Associated Press that the players agreed to a 7.5% salary reduction starting with the May 31 payroll and a $5 million cap on team and individual performance bonuses.

If a deal wasn’t met by Wednesday, the league had threatened a lockdown, something that MLS commissioner Don Garber says was his decision.

“It’s not something that I did without a lot of thought and without a lot of concern and a lot of understanding as to what impact that would have on our players and on the negotiation. But it was something, as the leader of this league that I believed was necessary in order for us to get to the point today,” Garber said.

The league hasn’t played since it shut down back in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few Atlanta United players returned to training in May for individual, voluntary workouts.

Teams were allowed to resume small voluntary group sessions on Monday, but players from Atlanta did not report to those.

The plan right now is for MLS games to resume with a tournament Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, according to previous reports.

Garber said the tournament would last no longer than 35 days but did not give any other details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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