The 2015 MLS season is in very real danger of not starting on time after the MLS players union and league officials failed to reach an agreement on a new CBA on Tuesday after a third straight day of negotiations.
Sources confirmed to Goal USA that players had agreed to hold a strike vote after the latest round of labor talks, but it remains unclear whether the vote took place, or if players had approved a motion to strike. Sources also confirmed that talks took a negative turn after the sides reached an impasse in negotiations, leading the players union to consider staging a strike.
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ESPN FC reported on Tuesday that the latest offer submitted by the league would pave the way for a form of free agency, though not outright free agency. Under the proposed plan detailed by ESPN FC , players age 28 or older who had played a total of eight combined years in MLS would be eligible to play for the team of their choosing once they are out of contract. One of the caveats to that arrangement is that players switching teams would be limited in how much of a salary increase they could receive from switching teams, with the report suggesting the cap would be 10 percent.
Talks ended late Tuesday evening, with no resolution agreed to, and with rumors swirling that talks had stalled in the evening after progress was made in the afternoon. Free agency remains a key sticking point in the talks, but there are multiple issues still to be resolved in negotiations that, for now at least, appear to be put on hold.
The 2015 MLS season is set to kick off on Friday, with the Chicago Fire playing the LA Galaxy. Fire players were scheduled to depart for Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, but that trip could now be delayed, and ultimately canceled, if the players union votes to strike.
D.C. United is set to play the second leg of its CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Costa Rican side Alajuelense on Wednesday at RFK Stadium. Coincidentally, that match will take place in the same city where MLS labor talks have gone on for the past three days. Sources tell Goal USA that D.C. United's players will participate in Wednesday's match.