MLS is coming back!

After weeks of speculation from fans and negotiations between MLS and the Players’ Union, they have ratified the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and finalized a plan for a 2020 summer tournament in the Orlando area.

Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio at The Athletic have been our main source of information as the situation has developed, reporting on the details and the eventual agreement.

According to the new CBA, players will take a 7.5% pay cut for the rest of the 2020 season and $1 million of the team and individual bonuses pool will go toward the upcoming tournament in Orlando.

Players will also be allowed to stay in-market for full-team training until the tournament starts in early July, unless local restrictions prohibit it, in which case those clubs will travel to Orlando to prepare.

As far as we know, the format previously outlined still applies:

• Teams would be in greater Orlando for a maximum period of six weeks.
• Teams would play in three-game group stages.
• Teams would play in a knockout style rounds.
• Teams who failed to move out of the knockout rounds would return to their home complexes.

While a lot is still up in the air, the biggest question for me is will Rapids fans even be able to watch the games? ESPN is the obvious broadcast partner for this event, but will they partner with regional networks or will games be on ESPN/ESPN+?