Major League Soccer operates under a salary cap, leading to unique roster regulations uncommon in global football. These include using General Allocation Money for player acquisitions and salary adjustments, and a draft system for college athletes. While familiar to US sports fans, the increasing global interest in MLS is highlighting these specific rules to a wider audience.
Among these distinctive mechanisms, Discovery Rights and the associated Discovery List have drawn significant attention, particularly with the arrival of high-profile players like Lionel Messi and Marco Reus.
What are Discovery Rights?
Introduced in 1996 with the league`s inception, the Discovery mechanism allows each team to maintain a list of up to five players not currently under contract with MLS or assigned through other league mechanisms. Strict criteria apply: players cannot be active MLS players, former MLS players, draft-eligible, homegrown-eligible, or free agents, among other conditions. Teams can freely add or remove players from their list at any time, and there`s no cap on the number of players who can ultimately be signed using this rule.
If more than one club attempts to add the same player to their list, the club that added the player earlier has priority. In cases where multiple clubs add the player on the same day, the team with the lowest points per game ratio receives priority.
Movement of Rights
When a club removes a player from its Discovery List, other clubs become eligible to add them. This situation recently occurred with Kevin De Bruyne; he was initially on San Diego FC`s list but was added by Inter Miami after San Diego reduced their list size (expansion teams temporarily have larger lists). The Chicago Fire are also reportedly interested and are considered favorites to sign him, partly because Inter Miami`s Designated Player slots are full. Another method for teams to acquire a player`s rights is by offering the current holder $50,000 in General Allocation Money. Upon such an offer, the holding team must either accept the GAM and transfer the rights or present the player with a formal contract offer.
This transfer of rights can involve inter-team negotiations. A notable instance involved Marco Reus`s rights, which cost the LA Galaxy $400,000, the highest sum ever paid for Discovery Rights. Reports indicated Reus preferred joining the Galaxy over Charlotte after leaving Dortmund. However, since Charlotte had made him a formal offer, they weren`t obligated to accept the initial $50,000 GAM offer, allowing them to negotiate a higher fee from the Galaxy.
What Could Come Next?
The scenario with Reus raises questions about what might happen if teams *don`t* reach an agreement, potentially preventing a player from signing with their preferred club. This kind of situation, while rare, is being considered by MLS leadership.
Todd Durbin, MLS EVP of Player Strategy and Relations, stated, “We`re examining measures not only to streamline the process but also significantly reduce conflicts between teams who believe they should hold a player`s Discovery Rights. This is on our sporting competition committee`s agenda for this year.” He added, “We are considering ideas such as establishing a fixed compensation structure for rights transfers between teams to eliminate friction, and potentially limiting the total pool of discoverable players.”
Dominic Ashworth