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MLS increased the roster size from 24 to 26, with the two additional slots to be used for home grown players. Home grown players are those that have come up through a club's academy or been signed to the academy for at least 12 months.
The MLS 26-player roster is now structured as follows:
Senior Roster (Slots 1-20)
MLS teams may have 18-20 players on their senior roster. These players will make no less than $40,000 per year and count against the 2010 team salary budget of $2,550,000.
Protected Roster (Slots 21-26)
Teams may have up to six players that do not count against the salary budget. Players on this roster may include Generation adidas players, players earning the 2010 League minimum player salary of $40,000 per year, and two of these six slots are reserved for home grown players who earn a minimum of $31,250 in 2010.
As another incentive to develop academies, the decision also increased the transfer fee a club receives if one of its home-grown players signs abroad. This could set a precedent for the development of youth transfer fees in the U.S., as is common practice abroad. Previously, an MLS club received 2/3 of any fee collected for one of its players transferring or being loaned abroad, with the League distributing the remaining third among all owners. Now, revenue from player transfers and loans will be divided as follows:
Home Grown Player:
• Club receives 3/4 of transfer fee revenue and the League receives 1/4
Generation adidas players & non home grown players acquired in the SuperDraft:
• 1 Year of service: 1/3 to Club and 2/3 to League
• 2 Years: 1/2 to Club and 1/2 to League
• 3+ Years: 2/3 to Club and 1/3 to League
All other players:
• Club receives 2/3 of the transfer fee revenue and the League receives 1/3
The maximum amount of a given transfer fee’s revenue that may be used by a club as allocation money increased from $500,000 to $650,000. Allocation money may be used to reduce the portion of a player’s compensation that counts against a club’s salary budget in connection with signing players new to MLS, or re-signing existing MLS players to a new contract.
The 2007 Home Grown Player Initiative
Home grown players can sign professional contracts with their club or Generation adidas contracts and do not have do go through the SuperDraft. Teams can sign four home grown players per year. Since the Home Grown Player initiative was adopted in 2007, MLS clubs have signed 10 qualifed players.
The 2007 initiative required clubs to provide a program offering at least one U-16 and one U-18 team to play in the Development Academy League. Some clubs such as the Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids have configurations of dual track programs from U-6 to U-23 for boys and girls. The New England Revolution currently field one U-16 and one U-18 team. The increased roster is likely to benefit clubs such as the Fire and Vancouver, who have heavily invested in development.
The two additional roster spaces for home grown players create both an incentive for clubs to invest in their academies and professional development opportunities for promising young players. Because of the short history of the game in the U.S. and the cultural and economic mandates to earn college degrees and the restrictive NCAA regulations, player development in the U.S. is complex and expensive. These two decisions - to increase the roster for two home grown players and to increase clubs' share of transfer fee revenue - provide clubs with incentives to invest in development and reward clubs that already do.
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