If there is one thing the David Beckham situation has made abundantly clear, it’s that MLS does things differently. During the negotiations with Milan, I’ve been repeatedly asked to explain the MLS contract system. In the traditional soccer model, players are owned by individual teams and transferred (i.e. sold) when two clubs (and the subject player) agree. Not so in MLS.
MLS operates as a “single entity” where teams are controlled by the League. While the level of central control has lessened over the years, player contracts are still owned by Major League Soccer. Thus, despite playing for the L.A. Galaxy, Beckham’s contract is owned by the League. Thus, to negotiate a transfer, both clubs, the player and MLS need to agree.
This obviously creates some conflicts. Undoubtedly, David Beckham has enormously increased awareness of MLS worldwide. Selling him now may not be in the best interest of the League and its owners, but very well might be in the best interest of the Galaxy on the field. As of this writing, no deal has been done. Galaxy owners AEG, have taken the party line with AEG President Tim Lewike stating, “I’m not sure they ever quite understood the magnitude of the losses the Galaxy and the league would have had to bear this season. They were very respectful discussions. We’re fine. There’s no issues here.”
However, Lewike heads the business and not the soccer arm of AEG. MLS teams are held to a tight salary cap, and head coach Bruce Arena would likely much prefer to dump Beckham and use the funds freed up under the salary cap, and transfer funds, to build a contender. Instead, he may be left with an unhappy Beckham and another losing team.
