The debate over the Superliga prize money seems to be rolling on like a European summer transfer saga. Now Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has spoken out about what he sees as the misconception regarding the much-publicized $1 million prize money, and the fact that the players on the winning team will only take a collective share of $150,000.
The MLS Players’ Union said Monday that both teams in Tuesday’s final, the Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution, would split the $250,000 players’ total prize money for the tournament equally among both sides, regardless of the game’s outcome. According to the Washington Post’s Steven Goff, Garber said this contravenes the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the union and “it’s not something we’re going to allow.” If the CBA is violated, “we will address it.”
Garber reiterated that the $1 million prize money was always intended for the teams, who have to cover a lot of costs when participating in the tournament. “The winning team receiving the lion’s share of the prize money is not something much different than in a number of other sports,” he said. “What I have found very frustrating is that this has been positioned as the league misleading the public by saying that the prize would go to the players. We never, ever implied that the players would get the one million dollars. The winner is the team.”