What MLS' 'new sporting initiatives' mean for 2024 season

Last week, Major League Soccer announced the 'new sporting initiatives' that will be installed for the 2024 campaign after the league's Board of Governors meeting.

Many fans of MLS clubs had higher expectations for the new changes regarding roster building regulations for next season. But after the league's announcement, those same fans were left wondering when will MLS take the training wheels off and allow their league to really explode?

While the announcement was very underwhelming to most, the league did implement some good that will positively impact the matchday experience for supporters across MLS. Some of these changes for good include things like cracking down on time wasting and allowing referees to explain decisions made after VAR checks, similarly to what happens at American football games.

To keep players from taking too long to exit the field for substitutions, the league is implementing a Timed Substitution Rule after it was successfully trialed during the 2023 MLS Next Pro season.

"Maximizing effective match time, the Timed Substitution Rule requires that a substituted player exit the field within 10 seconds. Failure to exit from any point on the field within the 10 seconds will cause the incoming player to wait for a 60-second holding period, before entering the game at the next stoppage. During the holding period and prior to the substitute entering, the team will play down a player. Exceptions to the rule include injury and goalkeeper substitutions," a league statement read.

Allowing fans to see how much time is remaining in each half is another improvement that was made in the Board of Governors' meeting. Instead of wondering how much of the remaining six minute of added time remains, fans will no longer have to worry about that thanks to the Stoppage Time Clock that will "run until the completion of each half, including any additional time at the end of either the first or second half."

The last change that will be received greatly by supporters is referees announcing decisions after a video review sequence. Like American football contests, both the fans in attendance at games and ones watching from home will be able to hear the referee's decision if it is approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Now that the good news is out of the way, we must address the not-so-good news that everyone has been up in arms about over the past week. With so much global coverage on American soccer now and in the coming years - thanks to Lionel Messi and co at Inter Miami, Copa America 2024 coming to the US as well as the US co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup - many believed this was the prime opportunity for the Board of Governors or the league's commissioner Don Garber to really allow MLS to grow in regard to roster building and transfers.

MLS already has the Designated Player rule, where teams are allowed to sign up to three players that don't count against the salary cap. Fans hoped that this would be extended to four players to enhance the overall quality of the league. Many also hoped for a salary cap increase (it currently sits at $5.2m) given the revenue that is expected to flow into the league's pockets after Messi's arrival and the 10-year, $2.5b broadcast deal with Apple.

Unfortunately, neither of those will be enacted in the 2024 campaign. Perhaps Garber and the Board of Governors are trying to keep the league afloat and financially secure for as long as possible. But the decisions by the higher-ups of MLS show that they don't want to take risks (even though their teams can't get relegated) and promote the game of soccer in the US.

So, if MLS has chosen to not do things like increase the salary cap for all teams and include a fourth Designated Player, what did they change and what does it mean for 2024 and beyond?

MLS did make a change in the wonderful world of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) and General Allocation Money (GAM): "Following the transfer of a Designated Player who meets the TAM eligibility parameters, a club may now elect to receive a portion of transfer fees as General Allocations Money (GAM)."

Before this change, any money a club earned from a transfer from a DP could not be used in the this same regard.

Another change to roster building guidelines comes in the form of Discovery Rights, another regulation that makes MLS unique. Previously, MLS sides were allowed up to seven players on their Discovery Rights list. However, after the 2024 roster compliance date, teams will only be allowed to have up to five players on their lists. Only the league's newest team, San Diego FC who will begin play in 2025, will be allowed up to seven players on their Discovery Rights list through the 2025 roster compliance date.

These changes will impact how club's go about tinkering with their squads this offseason and the offseasons to come. But it really does feel like a missed opportunity for the powers that be to make meaningful changes when it comes to roster building regulations.

There will still be plenty of fans who keep their MLS Season Pass subscription; but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the numbers of subscribers grow stagnant as the new season nears given MLS' reluctance to drastically change roster building rules.

With Messi here, MLS will only continue to grow in popularity with the world wanting to watch where the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner plays. Why wouldn't you take the training wheels off for clubs to go out and spend big to bring big-time players to the league to be able to compete at the highest level across three to four competitions in a season?

Maybe MLS will make significant changes ahead of the 2025 season. Maybe they won't. But to really capitalize on Messi taking the stage in MLS, Garber and co must think with the league's future in mind instead of just lining their pockets for the next few years.

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