July 16 – Money talks, and in Major League Soccer’s case, it eventually sang sweetly enough to end a bonus row that threatened to overshadow the Club World Cup.
MLS and the MLS Players Association have finally kissed and made up over prize money from the expanded tournament, with the league agreeing to a 40% increase on the original $1 million pot spelled out in their collective bargaining agreement. Players also bagged 30% of all performance prize money without any cap.
The deal was struck on June 27, just two days before Inter Miami faced PSG in the knockout phase of the tournament.
“This agreement provided meaningful enhancements that go well beyond what is required by our CBA and deliver substantial value to the players,” said MLS chief communications officer Dan Courtemanche.
The MLSPA wasn’t completely thrilled with how the deal was eventually reached saying in a statement: “While we were ultimately able to reach an agreement, players were deeply disappointed with the league’s approach to the negotiation. Stonewalling, threats and retaliation will not be effective strategies as we move into the major negotiations ahead of us.”
The spat over cash had already spilled into public view when Seattle Sounders players wore ‘Club World Cash Grab’ T-shirts during warm-ups for a domestic game – a protest that reportedly left owner Adrian Hanauer fuming at his own squad. Awkward!
The financial stakes were always going to cause friction. Concacaf teams each pocketed $9.55 million just for showing up at the CWC, with another $2 million per win and $1 million per draw on offer. Reach the round of 16? That’s another $7.5 million in the bank. The original CBA simply wasn’t built for this kind of cash bonanza.
For all their troubles, the three MLS sides didn’t exactly set the tournament alight. Seattle lost all three group games – falling 2-1 to Botafogo, 3-1 to Atlético Madrid and 2-0 to PSG – but still walked away with $1.4 million in bonuses. Not bad for a weekend’s work, even if the football was forgettable.
LAFC managed just one point from their group, drawing 1-1 with Flamengo while losing to Espérance and eventual champions Chelsea. Their players collected $1.25 million for participating, plus $250,000 for qualifying through their play-in victory over Club América and another $300,000 for that Flamengo draw. Total haul: $1.8 million.
Inter Miami were the only MLS side to actually win a game – courtesy of a trademark Lionel Messi free kick against Porto – and the only team to escape the group stage after winning once and drawing twice. The prize? A cool $4.7 million in bonuses: $1.25 million for showing up, $1.2 million for their group stage heroics and $2.25 million for reaching the knockouts.
All three clubs also maxed out the option to convert $750,000 of their Club World Cup payouts into allocation money for roster budget functions.
The current CBA runs until January 31, 2028, but with the league eyeing major structural changes – including a potential flip to a fall-spring calendar to follow the European season – expect this bonus bust-up to be a mere appetizer for the negotiations ahead. The 2026 World Cup is coming, and everyone wants their slice of the pie.
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