MLS Reportedly Plans to Terminate CBA by Triggering Force Majeure Clause

Major League Soccer is terminating the collective bargaining agreement to which it formally agreed with the MLS Players Association in June, according to ESPN's Austin Lindberg.

Lindberg reported the league is using its force majeure clause to invalidate the deal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also provided a comment from deputy commissioner Mark Abbott:

"Unfortunately, based on the assessment of public health officials, it is clear that the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions on attendance at sporting events will continue into the 2021 MLS season. We recognize the impact that the pandemic has had on our players and appreciate their efforts to restart and complete the 2020 season, but, like the other leagues in the United States and Canada, MLS needs to address the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic and will engage in good-faith discussions with our players about ways to manage the significant economic issues we are facing."

Sports fans became aware of the force majeure clause as part of the wider conversation surrounding the pandemic's impact on American sports. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted the NBA's collective bargaining agreement included language to allow the league to act unilaterally under the provision.

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association ultimately amended the current CBA in November rather than ripping it up and starting anew.

Even with the loss in live gate revenue, the league still had massive media rights deals to provide an influx of cash. ESPN and Turner Sports pay roughly $2.66 billion annually to broadcast games.

Lindberg noted MLS's contracts with ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision total $90 million per season. As a result, the inability for clubs to fill stadiums is having a far bigger hit on the bottom line.

Commissioner Don Garber said earlier this month the league's loss of revenue was expected to be $1 billion. The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported that matchday revenue was down by 95 percent, with Garber calling the consequences of the overall situation "probably deeper than what we expected."

MLS already went through difficult negotiations with players in the spring. After initially agreeing to a new CBA in early February, the pandemic prevented the agreement from being ratified which allowed the league to reopen negotiations around the restart, per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle. A player who spoke to Carlisle said the process may have done "irreparable" damage.

"We were hoping that we'd be able to find a solution together to all these things and be consulted on certain things, have a dialogue about what return-to-play looks like," the player said. "And we just really didn't have it. It was just all kind of jammed down our throats. 'Accept or get locked out.'"

It's safe to assume MLS isn't terminating the CBA because it wants to make more concessions to the players, setting up what's likely to be a tense face-off.