Why Club World Cup's significant bonus money won't trickle down to MLS players

The Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami — and possibly LAFC, if FIFA opts for a play-in game between the 2022 MLS Cup champs and Club America — will get a windfall this summer when the MLS teams compete in FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup. FIFA announced that each participating Concacaf team will receive $9.55 million for taking part in the tournament.

That figure increases with every positive result. Teams get another $2 million for every win and $1 million for every draw. Advertisement Should an MLS team advance out of the group stage — far from a guarantee, but a possibility nonetheless — that club would be due another payment of $7.



5 million. The prizes continue for each advancing round. For MLS teams that still struggle to break even, and with many of them losing money, that sort of payout is a massive boost.

For the players on those teams, however, there will be significantly fewer riches to be gained by participating in the tournament. According to the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in February 2021, MLS players will be paid a maximum of $1 million in prize money from the highly lucrative tournament. The cap comes from section 10.

8 of the CBA, which defines tournament bonus pools. That section lays out payouts for known tournaments, like the U.S.

Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup. What it didn’t account for at the time was a new FIFA-run tournament with unprecedented prize pools . Thus, players are limited by a carve out for compulsory and non-compulsory tournaments.

The exact language reads: If an MLS Team or MLS receives prize money by virtue of the Team’s performance and/or participation in a Compulsory Tournament or Non-Compulsory Tournament (other than the tournaments set forth above i.e., USOC, Canadian Championship, CCL, Campeones Cup, Leagues Cup), Players competing in that tournament will receive the following: (a) If the Team or MLS receives prize money, fifty percent (50%) of such prize money up to a maximum payment to the Players (collectively) of $1,000,000 per tournament.

The MLS Players Association recently reached out to MLS to engage in discussions about the bonuses, per a league source, however no formal discussions have yet taken place and no movement has occurred beyond what is spelled out in the CBA. If each team maxed out its roster at the MLS limit of 30 players, that would amount to $33,333 per player. That bonus would not be reflected in a player’s salary budget charge.

Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, who is the team’s player rep with the MLSPA, told The Seattle Times he hoped “the compensation part gets settled with the PA and what not, but I’m really excited about the opportunity to compete and play against these big teams.” It is an unfortunate set of circumstances for the players, as this level of prize money is unprecedented in club soccer, especially for an MLS side. It simply wasn’t something that could have been anticipated.

Whether MLS sees it the same way, or feels any sort of obligation to budge, remains to be seen. Advertisement Interestingly, this comes at a time when the league is weighing flipping the calendar to a fall-spring format , something that would require MLSPA approval. A calendar change would mostly suit players, especially if it’s paired with roster rule and spending changes, but will also come with hardships related especially to training in colder weather.

At minimum, this comes at a time in which fostering collaboration between the players and league is at a premium. (Top photo: Sam Navarro/Imagn Images).