NEW YORK — Major League Soccer and its players signed an agreement in principle Saturday on a five-year labor contract that avoided a strike scheduled before next week’s season opener.
Negotiators began intensive talks Thursday in Washington, D.C., and the deal was signed shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, about 51⁄2 hours before the opening of $200 million Red Bull Arena, the league’s latest showpiece stadium.
“This can all be a positive relationship going forward,” Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan said. “Going forward we’re going to have a real relationship with the league as opposed to being combative at times.”
MLS Players Union head Bob Foose said a majority of players will receive guaranteed contracts for the first time and there will be increased player rights within the league when contracts expire. Still, the union did not achieve its goal of free agency.
“From our perspective, these negotiations were always about players’ rights,” Foose said, with his members wanting to bring their rights “more in line with leagues from around the world.”
“Soccer is a global game and we were adamant that these changes were necessary to make MLS as competitive as possible,” Foose said.
Talks went overnight until 2 a.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, with players watching NCAA tournament games. The deal must be ratified by both sides, which appears to be a formality.
“This is a great way for Major League Soccer to start its season,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said.
Management was opposed to free agency within MLS, which has negotiated all contracts as a single entity on behalf of its teams since play began in 1996. MLS said players always had the option of signing with clubs overseas.
“Players will have greater rights at the expiration of their agreements, but they will not be free agents within the league,” Garber said.
Instead, there will be a re-entry draft for players whose contracts end, options are declined or who reach a certain age.
The league’s initial five-year labor contract was set to expire Jan. 31, and it ran out Feb. 25 after players refused a third short-term extension. The union said March 11 it would strike if an agreement wasn’t reached before March 25, when expansion Philadelphia opens at Seattle.
