MLS Announces 2015 Roster Rules and Regulations

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Major League Soccer has announced its 2015 roster rules.  As part of these revisions, the Lottery Player Assignment Process is being abolished. In previous years, some players entering the league went through a “weighted lottery” to sign with an MLS team.

As part of the revised Discovery Process, in 2015 clubs may place seven players on their Discovery Lists, a reduction from 12 players in 2014.

Below is the full release.
MLS News Release

New Rules Streamline Player Assignment Mechanisms;

Revisions Provide Clarity on Allocation and Discovery Processes

NEW YORK (Friday, May 1, 2015) – Major League Soccer today announced its 2015 Roster Rules and Regulations. As part of this announcement, the league issued new, streamlined rules for how MLS clubs acquire select players pursuant to the Allocation and Discovery processes. The league also provided information about the other mechanisms for signing players, such as the SuperDraft and Homegrown Player Rule.

As described in detail below, MLS clubs can acquire specific players through either (i) the revised Allocation Process or (ii) the revised Discovery Process. These revised player assignment mechanisms go into effect today, Friday, May 1, 2015:

  • Allocation Process – MLS will maintain a single, fixed and public list of players, known as the Allocation Ranking List, that are subject to the Allocation Process. MLS clubs will have the right to acquire players on the Allocation Ranking List based on the Allocation Ranking Order. The Allocation Ranking Order is determined by the reverse order of finish in the previous season, taking playoff performance into account. Once a club acquires a player via the Allocation Ranking Order, that club drops to the bottom of the order. A club’s Allocation Ranking Order position is tradable.
  • Discovery Process – Subject to certain exemptions specified further below, a player not listed on the Allocation Ranking List may be signed through the Discovery Process.  A Discovery signing occurs when a team scouts and recruits a particular player not playing in MLS. Clubs identify players not yet under MLS contract and submit a claim to the league office to add the players to a club’s Discovery List.

As part of these revisions, the Lottery Player Assignment Process will no longer be used. In previous years, some players entering the league went through a “weighted lottery” to sign with an MLS team.

Designated Players may be signed through the Allocation Process, the Discovery Process or from a club’s existing roster.

ALLOCATION RANKING PROCESS 

The Allocation Ranking List is comprised of players in the following categories:

  • Select U.S. Men’s National Team players.
  • Select elite U.S. Youth National Team players.
  • Players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000 (USD).

The players who will be included on the Allocation Ranking List will be determined by Major League Soccer’s player personnel department and club technical staffs.

The Allocation Ranking List will be made public at MLSsoccer.com and updated once each year, during the time window between the end of the MLS regular season and MLS Cup. The Allocation Ranking List will only be updated during the season if an elite U.S. youth national team player turns 18 or graduates from the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, FL and is deemed eligible for the list. In addition, the Allocation Ranking List will be updated when a player is transferred out of MLS for more than $500,000 (USD).

 

DISCOVERY PROCESS 

As part of the revised Discovery Process, in 2015 clubs may place seven players on their Discovery Lists, a reduction from 12 players in 2014. This reduction is intended to encourage clubs to add to their lists only players they intend to sign.  In order for MLS clubs to maintain the confidentiality from other MLS clubs of the players they are seeking to recruit, the league office will not publicize the names of players on a club’s Discovery list, nor specify if a claim has been filed to add a particular player to a club’s Discovery List. Clubs may add or remove players to their Discovery List throughout the year, and each club’s Discovery List does not reset at the end of the MLS season.

 

In addition to players on the Allocation List, the following categories are exempt from the Discovery Process:

  • SuperDraft Eligible Players — U.S. youth national team players, college players and players with college eligibility (which includes players under the age of 18).
  • Homegrown Players — Players developed in a club’s youth academy. 
  • College Protected Players — Players who were selected in the MLS SuperDraft and did not sign an MLS contract.
  • Other Unsigned Players — Players who were (i) on a club’s roster who that club attempted, but were unable, to re-sign at the expiration of their contract or (ii) on a club’s Discovery List and who that club attempted, but were unable, to sign. 

In both cases, the club who attempted to sign the player maintains a “right of first refusal” to acquire the player in the event he is subsequently signed to an MLS contract. Recent examples include the New England Revolution’s Juan Agudelo and Sporting Kansas City’s Roger Espinoza, two players who returned to MLS after playing abroad.

  • Waived Players — Players who have been previously waived by an MLS club.

If one or more clubs try to add the same player to their Discovery Lists, the club that filed the claim first will have the priority right to sign the player. If one or more clubs submit a discovery request on the same day, then the club with the lowest points-per-game in the current MLS regular season (all clubs must have played a minimum of three regular season games) will have the priority right to sign the player.

If a club wants to sign a player on the Discovery List of another team, it may offer the team $50,000 in Allocation Money in exchange for the right to sign the player. The team with the player on its Discovery List will then either (i) have to accept the Allocation Money and give up the opportunity to sign the player or (ii) make the player a genuine, objectively reasonable offer.

The 2015 MLS roster rules and guidelines can be found HERE.

 

Allocation Ranking List

As of May 1, 2015 

Player Date of Birth Current Club Classification
Bedoya, Alejandro 4/25/1987 Nantes (FRA) Senior USMNT
Guzan, Brad 9/9/1984 Aston Villa (ENG) Senior USMNT
Howard, Tim 3/6/1979 Everton (ENG) Senior USMNT
Johannsson, Aron 11/10/1990 AZ Alkmaar (NED) Senior USMNT
Johnson, Fabian 12/11/1987 Hoffenheim (GER) Senior USMNT
Anangono, Juan 4/13/1989 Club Universidad de Guadalajara (MEX) Transfer
Brown, Deshorn 12/22/1990 Valerenga (NOR) Transfer
Cameron, Geoff 7/11/1985 Stoke City (ENG) Transfer
Gonzalez, Giancarlo 2/8/1988 Palermo (ITA) Transfer
Henry, Doneil 4/20/1993 Apollon Limassol (CYP) Transfer
Montero, Fredy 7/26/1987 Sporting Lisbon (POR) Transfer
Najar, Andy 3/16/1993 Anderlecht (BEL) Transfer
Ream, Tim 10/5/1987 Bolton (ENG) Transfer
Rochat, Alain 2/1/1983 Young Boys (SWI) Transfer
Rosell, Oriol 7/7/1992 Sporting Lisbon (POR) Transfer
Sanchez, Richard 4/5/1994 Tigres UANL (MEX) Transfer
Sanvezzo, Camilo 7/21/1988 Queretaro (MEX) Transfer
Valencia, Jose Adolfo 12/18/1991 Rosario Central (ARG) Transfer
Yedlin, DeAndre 7/9/1993 Tottenham (ENG) Transfer
Flores, Junior 3/26/1996 B. Dortmund (GER) Youth USMNT
Green, Julian 6/6/1995 Hamburg (GER) Youth USMNT
Moore, Shaquell 11/2/1996 Unattached Youth USMNT
Pelosi, Marc 6/17/1994 Liverpool (ENG) Youth USMNT
Rubin, Rubio 3/1/1996 Utrecht (NED) Youth USMNT

 

Allocation Ranking Order

As of May 1, 2015

 

Rank Club
1 San Jose Earthquakes
2 LA Galaxy
3 Chicago Fire
4 Houston Dynamo
5 Philadelphia Union
6 Portland Timbers
7 Sporting Kansas City
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
9 Columbus Crew SC
10 FC Dallas
11 Real Salt Lake
12 Montreal Impact
13 Seattle Sounders FC
14 New England Revolution
15 Colorado Rapids
16 NYCFC
17 Toronto FC
18 New York Red Bulls
19 Orlando City SC
20 D.C. United

 

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About Author

Steve is the founder and owner of Prost Amerika. He covered the expansion of MLS soccer in Cascadia at first hand. As Editor in Chief of soccerly.com, he was accredited at the 2014 World Cup Final. He is the former President of the North American Soccer Reporters Association.

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