USLPA Moves Toward Strike…

The USL Players Association (USLPA) has authorized its bargaining committee to call for a strike if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is not reached with the USL, according to a statement shared with ESPN.

Negotiations for a new CBA have been ongoing since August 2024, following the expiration of the previous agreement on December 31. The most recent session occurred last Thursday, which included the involvement of a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the USLPA noted in their statement to ESPN.

The USL presented its latest proposal on February 18, which the USLPA described as only slightly different from the prior offer.

This comes as the USL aims to establish a new Division 1 league to complement the USL Championship and initiate a promotion-relegation system by 2028.

The USL Championship season is set to kick off on March 6 in Lexington, Kentucky, with Lexington SC facing Louisville City FC, while other teams will begin play later that weekend.

With just one week until the start of the 2026 season, the USLPA expressed concerns about the lack of a new agreement after 547 days of negotiations with the USL and its Championship clubs.

The Players Association emphasized that they have negotiated in good faith throughout the process, including four hours of mediation earlier this week, with further sessions scheduled.

During a recent vote, approximately 90% of the player pool participated in evaluating the League’s latest proposal, with the vast majority rejecting it. The players have empowered their bargaining committee to undertake any necessary actions, including potentially calling a strike if an acceptable agreement is not reached.

As the Championship season approaches, players are advocating for an agreement that embodies professional standards, demanding fair treatment that ensures basic protections and safe working conditions.

A key issue in the talks centers around the league’s insistence on allowing teams to exercise three unilateral buyouts of player contracts over two years. This proposal would mean the USL is only responsible for paying 75% of a player’s salary in the first year and just 50% in subsequent years, excluding housing and health insurance costs. In comparison, MLS teams can enact two buyouts per season while retaining the full obligation of the player’s contract.

Additionally, the union and league have tentatively agreed to extend the standard contract length to 12 months from 10 months, addressing a concern for the USLPA, which argues that professional soccer is effectively a year-round commitment.

The previous CBA had a tiered salary structure, permitting teams to sign up to six players on a “flex minimum” contract worth $26,000 a season, encompassing salary, bonuses, health insurance, and housing. The contract minimum was set at $31,000 for other players.

The league previously proposed over a 20% raise from the contract minimum, bringing the total to approximately $38,000 annually. The USLPA is pushing for a minimum salary of $43,400, representing a 40% increase, exclusive of health insurance and bonuses, although housing remains part of the contracted total. The number of “flex minimum” contracts per team is still under negotiation.

Health insurance remains a contentious topic as well. While the last CBA did not require clubs to provide insurance, about 80% of teams opted to do so. Currently, there is consensus that all teams should provide some form of health coverage, but the USLPA argues for a standardized plan across the league as opposed to individual club discretion endorsed by the league.

Lastly, negotiations also face hurdles regarding the licensing of player image and likeness rights. Presently, the USLPA receives $25,000 from the league for licensing usage; however, they seek an increase to $600,000 to align with compensation received by players in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Conversely, the league is aiming to restrict this amount to roughly $125,000.