Short answer: MLS clubs work to a 2026 salary budget of $6,425,000, and no player can count for more than $803,125 against it, but this is a budget rather than a hard cap. Clubs can pay more through Designated Players, U22 Initiative slots and allocation money, including $3,280,000 of General Allocation Money per club.
The MLS salary cap in 2026 is a club salary budget of $6,425,000, and no single player can count for more than $803,125 against it. Both figures come from the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations page. Clubs can spend well beyond that budget through Designated Players, U22 Initiative players and allocation money.
This page explains how the system works, sets out the 2026 figures from MLS, compares them with 2025 and gives the 2027 figures from the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). All amounts are in US dollars, as MLS publishes them. The rules do not list individual salaries, and we cover one player’s pay only, further down.
What are the MLS salary budget and allocation money figures for 2026?
| Item | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Club salary budget | $6,425,000 |
| Maximum salary budget charge (single player) | $803,125 |
| Designated Player budget charge (age 24 or over) | $803,125 |
| Mid-season Designated Player budget charge | $401,562.50 |
| Young Designated Player charge (20 or younger / 21-23) | $150,000 / $200,000 |
| U22 Initiative slot charge (20 or younger / 21-25) | $150,000 / $200,000 |
| General Allocation Money (GAM) per club | $3,280,000 |
| Extra GAM if a club picks the U22 Initiative model | Up to $2,000,000 |
| Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) per club | $2,125,000 |
| Maximum TAM amount (ceiling for a TAM player) | $1,803,125 |
| Senior minimum salary | $113,400 |
| Reserve minimum salary | $88,025 |
| Designated Player slots | Up to three (up to two under the U22 model) |
| Active roster size | Up to 30 players (20 senior, up to 11 supplemental) |
Source: MLS Roster Rules and Regulations, page dated “As of February 3, 2026”. The figures are for the 2026 league year. MLS gives the active roster as up to 30 players. Slots 1-20 are the senior roster and count against the budget. Slots 21-31 are the supplemental roster and do not.
Why does MLS have a salary budget, not a simple hard cap?
The budget caps the combined budget charges of a club’s senior roster. It does not limit what a club can spend. MLS says each club “may spend additional funds on player compensation” beyond the salary budget. These extras include allocation money, Designated Players outside the budget, U22 Initiative slots outside the budget and the supplemental roster.
The senior roster and the supplemental roster
Up to 20 players in slots 1-20 count against the $6,425,000 budget. Clubs do not have to fill slots 19 and 20, and a club may spread its whole budget across 18 senior players. A minimum charge is imputed for each unfilled senior slot below 18. Salaries of players in slots 21-31 do not count against the budget. Slots 21-24 must be paid at least the senior minimum ($113,400) and slots 25-30 at least the reserve minimum ($88,025).
Designated Players
The Designated Player rule lets a club sign players whose total compensation and acquisition costs exceed the maximum charge. The club bears the cost above each player’s budget charge. In 2026, a Designated Player aged 24 or over counts for $803,125. If he joins after the Secondary Transfer Window opens, he counts for $401,562.50.
A club with two Designated Players can add a third by paying the league $150,000. That fee is waived if the third slot goes to a Young Designated Player. Clubs can also “buy down” a Designated Player’s charge with General Allocation Money, but not below $150,000.
The U22 Initiative
Each club has three or four U22 Initiative slots, and each one uses one of the 20 senior roster places. A player must be 22 or younger in his first year of eligibility and can keep the slot through the year he turns 25. His salary cannot exceed the maximum charge, but MLS says clubs “may pay, without limit” transfer or loan fees. The budget charge is $150,000 for players aged 20 or younger and $200,000 for those aged 21-25.
Clubs choose one of two models by the roster compliance date (20 February 2026). The Three Designated Player model allows up to three Designated Players and up to three U22 players. The U22 Initiative model allows up to two Designated Players, up to four U22 players and up to $2,000,000 of extra GAM.
General Allocation Money and Targeted Allocation Money
Every club gets $3,280,000 of GAM in 2026. A club can use it to cut a player’s budget charge to the lesser of 50% of the charge or $150,000, and clubs can trade it. GAM can also pay down a transfer or loan fee in full.
TAM is $2,125,000 per club and cannot be traded. A player must earn more than $803,125 to qualify, and the ceiling for such a player is $1,803,125. MLS defines a TAM player as one whose charge is above the maximum charge and at or below $1,803,125. TAM cannot cut a player’s charge below $150,000.
How do the 2025 and 2026 MLS salary figures compare?
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club salary budget | $5,950,000 | $6,425,000 | +$475,000 (+8.0%) |
| Maximum salary budget charge | $743,750 | $803,125 | +$59,375 (+8.0%) |
| Mid-season Designated Player charge | $371,875 | $401,562.50 | +$29,687.50 |
| Maximum TAM amount | $1,743,750 | $1,803,125 | +$59,375 |
| GAM per club | $2,930,000 | $3,280,000 | +$350,000 (+11.9%) |
| TAM per club | $2,225,000 | $2,125,000 | -$100,000 (-4.5%) |
| Senior minimum salary | $104,000 | $113,400 | +$9,400 (+9.0%) |
| Reserve minimum salary | $80,622 | $88,025 | +$7,403 (+9.2%) |
| Young Designated Player charge | $150,000 / $200,000 | $150,000 / $200,000 | Unchanged |
| U22 Initiative slot charge | $150,000 / $200,000 | $150,000 / $200,000 | Unchanged |
| Roster size | Up to 30 | Up to 30 | Unchanged |
Sources: the 2025 MLS roster rules page (as of 5 February 2025) and the 2026 page. The 2025 page’s summary box shows the club salary budget as “$950,000”, which is a typo. Its body text and the CBA table both give $5,950,000, and we use that. In 2025 the two clubs at the FIFA Club World Cup also received an additional $750,000 of GAM each. That one-off is not in the table.
What rule changes did MLS make for 2026?
On 22 January 2026, MLS announced amendments to the 2026 roster rules that were already in effect for clubs:
- No limit on the number of cash-for-player trades a club can make each season. The 2025 page allowed a club to trade away up to two players, and acquire up to two, for cash.
- No age restrictions or limits on the number of intraleague loans.
- The deadline for a player to count as domestic rather than international was removed.
- Clubs can agree that an international roster slot traded before or within the Primary Transfer Window returns to the original club on a set date in the Secondary Window.
- Designated Players acquired by cash-for-player trade in the Secondary Window can be added at the mid-season charge of $401,562.50.
- Players who have appeared on a gameday roster can be placed in Supplemental Slot 31 if they meet its other requirements.
The same release set the Secondary Window for 13 July to 2 September 2026. MLS says that is the first time in two decades, excluding the 2020 season, that it has run into September. We found no changes to the money figures (budget, GAM, TAM, minimums) after the 3 February 2026 page.
MLS also reported that clubs spent a record $370 million on transfers in 2026, against $336m in 2025. It said $46 million went on intra-league cash trades, 92% of them involving a Designated Player or U22 signing.
What are the 2027 MLS salary figures, and what is not published?
| Item | 2026 | 2027 (per 2021 CBA) |
|---|---|---|
| Salary budget | $6,425,000 | $7,068,000 |
| Maximum salary budget charge | $803,125 | $883,438 |
| General Allocation Money | $3,280,000 | $3,921,000 |
| Discretionary TAM | $2,125,000 | $2,025,000 |
| Available spend on roster (MLS’s figure) | $11,830,000 | $13,013,000 |
| Senior minimum salary | $113,400 | $125,875 |
The 2027 figures come from the MLS and MLSPA release on the collective bargaining agreement, published on 8 February 2021. The agreement runs from 8 February 2021 to 31 January 2028, so 2027 is the last season it covers. The 2027 TAM figure also appears on the 2026 roster rules page. MLS’s “available spend” total for 2027 is $13,013,000. The three components above add up to $13,014,000 (our calculation), so we quote MLS’s published total.
Treat these numbers with care. The CBA set them in 2021 for a calendar-year 2027 season. MLS has since said it will move to a summer-to-spring calendar. A Sprint Season of 14 regular-season games will run from February to April 2027. The 2027-28 season then starts in July 2027 and ends in May 2028. MLS has not said how the 2027 budget applies across those two periods. It has not published a 2027 reserve minimum, a 2027 maximum TAM amount or a 2027 roster rules page.
Budget versus actual pay
The budget covers only the senior roster, and a Designated Player’s pay above his charge sits outside it. It is therefore not a club’s total wage bill. For scale, the Premier League wage bills we track include Liverpool at £427.7m in 2024/25 (Deloitte). That is a whole club’s wage bill, in pounds, so it is not a like-for-like comparison with $6,425,000.
At the top end, Forbes reported on 22 May 2026 that the MLS Players Association disclosed Lionel Messi was receiving $28.3 million in guaranteed compensation this season. Forbes said that was more than the entire payroll of 28 other teams. Our page on the highest-paid football players in the world covers Forbes’ separate ranking of top earners.
How we built this
We used only MLS’s own roster rules pages (2025 and 2026), MLS’s releases on the CBA, the 2026 rule amendments, the 2027 calendar and 2026 transfer spending, plus one Forbes article for Messi’s figure. We calculated the year-on-year changes and percentages in the 2025 table and checked the 2027 sum; both are labelled as ours. We did not use estimates, media reports or third-party salary sites. The figures were checked on 28 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MLS salary cap in 2026?
Each club has a salary budget of $6,425,000, and the maximum budget charge for one player is $803,125. Both figures are on the MLS roster rules page.
Is the MLS salary cap a hard cap?
Not in the simple sense. MLS says clubs may spend extra on Designated Players, U22 Initiative slots, allocation money and the supplemental roster in addition to the salary budget.
How much allocation money does each MLS club get in 2026?
Each club gets $3,280,000 of General Allocation Money and $2,125,000 of Targeted Allocation Money. A club choosing the U22 Initiative model can receive up to $2,000,000 more GAM.
What is the minimum salary in MLS in 2026?
The senior minimum is $113,400 and the reserve minimum is $88,025, according to the MLS 2026 roster rules page.
What will the MLS salary budget be in 2027?
The 2021 CBA sets it at $7,068,000, with a maximum charge of $883,438. MLS has not said how that applies to the Sprint Season and the 2027-28 season.
Sources
- MLS: Roster Rules and Regulations (2026)
- MLS: Roster Rules (2025)
- MLS: MLS and MLSPA ratify new collective bargaining agreement
- MLS: Updated 2026 transfer window dates and roster rule amendments
- MLS: Record investment in player acquisition
- MLS: Calendar alignment announcement
- MLS: 2027 Sprint Season
- Forbes: World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes, 2026
