Major League Soccer avoided a work stoppage Wednesday by reaching an agreement in principle with the Major League Soccer Players Union on a new collective bargaining agreement, The Orlando Sentinel and other outlets reported.
"Deal is done," Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando told Reuters sports reporter Simon Evans .
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Neither side has confirmed a deal is in place.
Both league and player sources telling me there is agreement. Not signed yet but agreement in place
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) March 5, 2015 Free agency deal is 28 yr old after 8 years in league I am told. Salary cap up, min wage up.
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) March 5, 2015 Tally Hall says "proud" of what union achieved without needing a work stoppage
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) March 5, 2015 Free-agent eligibility and player salaries were among the key issues in the labor dispute.
MLS will open its season on time Friday night when the Chicago Fire square off against the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy, according to the reports.
Players seemed optimistic after a union meeting Tuesday, with many of them speaking as though a deal was in the works.
“Both the owners and the players are trying to find a common ground and doing a lot of work,” Orlando City midfielder Amobi Okugo told the Sentinel. “So a lot of respect to those guys from both parties to hopefully make these games happen.”
It appears they will.
UPDATE: MLS and the players union announced they have reached an agreement in principle on a new CBA. The deal will cover five seasons, beginning in 2015 and continuing through the 2019 season.
"We are pleased to finalize the framework for a new collective bargaining agreement with our players," commissioner Don Garber said in a release from MLS. "We now enter our 20th season with enormous momentum with our new television partnerships, dynamic star players from the US, Canada and abroad, and two new expansion teams in New York City and Orlando that will debut in front of more than 60,000 fans on Sunday in the Citrus Bowl.
"This agreement will provide a platform for our players, ownership and management to work together to help build Major League Soccer into one of the great soccer leagues in the world."
But not all MLS players are happy with the deal. One player involved in the discussions told Sports Illustrated's Liviu Bird players are "disappointed and upset with the union reps and Bob Foose," the MLS Players Union executive director.
"Not only did this deal destroy the future of the American player, it barely helps the current group of players," the player told SI.
"... In the end, it was the best deal according to some of the guys in the room because (of) the divide of the union guys. It seemed as if a strike wouldn't have helped or lasted long enough."
Seven of the league's 20 teams voted against the final deal, according to Goal.com reporter Ives Galarcep.
"An absolute disgrace. We have been talking about this for over a year, staying united and this what we came up with? We caved in under pressure," one veteran MLS player said to Galarcep. "Some of the guys at the negotiating table had personal agendas. Granted, some of those issues would not necessarily benefit us older players, but it will have been huge for the sport in this country. It would have benefited future MLSers and the current young player. But instead, we failed miserably once again.
"This is why our league is still considered a second-tier league," the player continued. "Personally I don't care, I'm at the end of my career and I have made my money. I'm just disappointed because we failed as a union."