Starting in the 2017 season, Major League Soccer has increased the number of available roster spots from 28 to 30 players, with the additional two spots designated exclusively for Homegrown Players.
Teams can also now use up to $200,000 of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) to sign Homegrown Players in a given club’s academy.
“Youth development continues to be a key strategic priority for MLS,” said Todd Durbin, MLS Executive Vice President of Competition and Player Relations. “These two changes allow greater flexibility for our clubs, as the two additional roster spots give our clubs the ability to sign a greater number of promising young players, while the use of Targeted Allocation Money on new Homegrown Players gives them more financial resources to help retain that top talent.”
The Seattle Sounders have already taken advantage of the two additional openings for Homegrown Players, as General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey said on Tuesday that the offseason signings of Henry Wingo and Seyi Adekoya were due in part to the new rule.
“The ability to sign more young players, to state the obvious, is consistent with what our club philosophy is,” Lagerwey said. “We do think that’s a good thing going forward.”
