MLS designated player rules explained

Ever since the inception of the MLS Designated Player rules, more and more international soccer stars have made the move to Major League Soccer for the right price.

Salary caps in American sports control just how much capital one team can spend on their players per season. In theory, the budget restrictions make it so no one team can buy all the best players available to create an unstoppable roster.

Major League Soccer, though, had to implement a way to get around the strict rules in 2007 when David Beckham signed a 5-year, $32.5 million deal with LA Galaxy. The momentous transfer led to the creation of the Designated Player rules that now help MLS teams attract and acquire renowned stars like Lionel Messi while going outside of their salary cap.

Here’s a breakdown of the logistics surrounding Designated Players in the MLS.

The MLS designated player rules allow clubs to acquire a maximum of three players whose wages and transfer fees would exceed a team’s salary cap. Each club gets two Designated Player roster slots and can pay $150,000 to add a third.

To determine if a player meets the requirements to be listed as a Designated Player, a club must average all the guaranteed amounts they will owe the player per year.

Designated Players can either be new players joining the MLS or re-signed players already on a team’s roster. A Designated Player can only be traded, though, once he reaches his second season in the MLS.

Compared to the Salary Budget Charge ($683,750) of a typical Designated Player, a Young Designated Player, age 23 or younger, has the following cheaper Salary Budget Charges, per the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations:

Check out the 15 new MLS Designated Players in the 2024 season: