In regard to the lawsuit filed by MLS players against the league, here are some general legal considerations to keep in mind:
(1) MLS players have filed a class-action suit against MLS on antitrust grounds. They have formed an asoociation, not a union represented by the National Labor Relations Board, since they would not be able, by law, to sue MLS on antitrust grounds.
(2) MLS has been structured as a “single-entity” to, in theory, get around antitrust laws. Owners have a financial stake in the league, not simply individual clubs. Contracts are owned by the league, not clubs. If MLS can win the case that it’s a single entity, it is basically exempt from conspiracy laws (for which one needs TWO parties acting in concert to further a criminal act.) The importance of the single-entity concept is such that the first editorial page to MLS’s 1996 media guide is devoted to an explanation of the single-entity concept.
(3) The players are claiming that MLS is not in fact operated like a single entity since clubs negotiate and hire key front office staff and have flexibility in how they spend money on local activities (promotions).
(4) MLS players are objecting to specifically the manner in which they are hired. MLS deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati, as much because of his power in the sport as any attempt to control salaries, is in effect the single person who hires every player. They have no effective ability to negotiate with individual clubs and leverage them off against each other.
(5) MLS players have also included U.S. Soccer and FIFA in the lawsuit, objecting to the manner in which players are sold for transfer fees. By bringing FIFA into the lawsuit, they put greater pressure on MLS and U.S. Soccer to reach a settlement. FIFA likes nothing less than being embroiled in lawsuits.
(6) MLS has been structured to control costs and maintain competitive balance with this centralized control. The great tension, of course, has been the desire of individual owners to, in the interest of improving their teams, spend more money that they originally deemed financially feasible. It is an issue (1) many clubs face this season as they try to come to terms with the reality of the salary cap and (2) fans deal with as players are allocated, in part, to make all teams equal in strength, not simply reward the coaches or GMs who were the best at finding players or convincing them to come to their team or city.
Paul Kennedy
Managing Editor
Soccer America