Five-year CBA deal agreed; minimum salary up, limited free agency on cards

The 2015 Major League Soccer season has been snatched from the jaws of stoppage after a new five-year collective bargaining agreement was reached in principle.

In an MLS press release, commissioner Don Garber said that a "framework" for the CBA was finalized with the players. The agreement is set to last five years, running through the 2019 season.

Key points of the deal are still coming to the forefront, but initial indications are that the league minimum salary will be raised to $60,000, and that some form of free agency will be afforded to players 28 years or older with at least 8 years of MLS experience.

The sticking point through negotiations was free agency, and according to varied reports, some players were unhappy with the terms of the agreement. That sort of thing is probably inevitable in negotiations.

Ives Galarcep, a prominent soccer journalist, reported that player representatives from seven clubs voted against the new CBA, with Real Salt Lake one of them. The others were Sporting KC, New York Red Bulls, New York City FC, Montreal Impact, FC Dallas, and Colorado Rapids.

With the basics of the deal essentially concluded, Real Salt Lake's season opener against Portland Timbers on Saturday will go forward as planned.