MLS: Players Secure Increase in Club World Cup Money

The Major League Soccer (MLS) Players Association and the league reached an agreement to increase the percentage of prize money received from the FIFA Club World Cup. This agreement represents a significant step forward in compensation for soccer players.

Agreement Details

The collective bargaining agreement initially stipulated that players would receive 50% of the money from external tournaments, with a limit of $1 million. After negotiations, MLS committed to giving players from the three participating teams 20% of performance-related payments, including wins, draws, and advancement to the next round. The parties failed to reach an agreement before the start of the tournament, despite ongoing conversations. However, they finally signed a new section of the collective bargaining agreement on June 27.

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The new terms stipulate that MLS will compensate players with a minimum increase of 40% over the previous million dollars and 30% of all performance-based awards in the Club World Cup, with no limit on the amount to be reached.

This agreement provides significant improvements that go beyond what is required by our collective bargaining agreement and offer substantial value to the players.

Dan Courtemanche, MLS Communications Director

According to FIFA, each Concacaf club earned $9.55 million for participating in the tournament, with an additional $1 million for a draw, $2 million for a win, and $7.5 million for those who qualified for the round of 16. Teams could have earned more if they had advanced to later stages of the competition.

Lionel Messi’s goal gave Inter Miami the only victory for an MLS team in the FIFA Club World Cup. Inter Miami players won a total of $4.7 million in the competition: 1.25 million for participating, 1.2 million for their performance in the group stage, and 2.25 million for qualifying for the round of 16. Inter Miami was the only MLS team to record a victory in the competition, with a 2-1 win over FC Porto, and the only MLS team to reach the knockout stage, where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain. The Seattle Sounders players won $1.25 million for participating in the competition and $150,000 from the group stage after losing all three matches. LAFC, for its part, received $1.25 million for participating, $250,000 for defeating Club América in the qualifying round, and an additional $300,000 from the group stage, where it recorded a draw and two defeats. Additionally, MLS also awarded each team $750,000 in general allocation money before the start of the season. These terms will not apply to the next Club World Cup, as the competition will be played again in 2029 and the current collective agreement expires in 2028.