Exploring MLS General Allocation Money: An Overview of Team Spending Flexibility

Increased transparency is a positive development.

We should begin our efforts from this point.

On Thursday, Major League Soccer publicly disclosed the amount of general allocation money each team holds for the first time. This marks another stride towards the transparency that has been standard in every other major men’s professional sports league in the United States.

In the NFL, NBA, MLB and similar leagues, fans can access salary cap figures with ease. The release of these general allocation money figures is intended to bring MLS fans closer to that level of insight, providing them with a clearer understanding of the funds and flexibility teams possess to exceed the cap and their potential expenditure plans.

This is a significant move for MLS, but we are not there completely yet. Therefore, it’s crucial to comprehend how much we can leverage these new data points when analyzing MLS teams, roster construction, and salary cap intricacies. If we liken MLS rosters to a Wheel of Fortune answer, we’ve just revealed R, S, T, L, N, and E. For some teams, simply acquiring the right vowel or guessing the right letter might be enough to resolve the puzzle. For others, we remain somewhat distant from completing it.

General allocation money provides teams the flexibility to attract high-profile players (Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)

This article aims to clarify all the essential information needed to comprehend the figures MLS released this morning. For those new to the realm of MLS roster regulations, we will start with the fundamentals of what general allocation money (GAM) is and its applications within MLS. For readers well-versed in the GAM/TAM landscape, feel free to skip ahead to where we delve into what can be gleaned from this information — as well as what additional details are still required to see the complete picture.

What is general allocation money?

It’s essentially extra cap space. This is the clearest and most straightforward way to conceptualize it.

The league allocates a fixed amount of GAM each year — for 2025, it’s set at $2.93 million — and teams can also earn additional GAM for failing to make the playoffs or qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Additionally, teams can convert up to $3 million per season from transfer income into GAM.

The primary function of GAM is to reduce cap charges. For instance, if a player has a cap charge of $1 million, a team could utilize $700,000 in GAM to lower the effective charge to $300,000.

Teams can also utilize GAM in trades, which is the most visible application of allocation money. This is the most frequent method for player trades within MLS. (Notably, GiveMeSport recently reported that the league is poised to permit internal cash trades/transfers for the first time in its history, potentially reshaping the internal trade market and assigning real cash values to players.)

Below are the conference-by-conference totals of each team’s available GAM for 2025. All graphics within the article are attributed to eScored’s Jeff Rueter.

What insights can we gain from these numbers regarding each team’s cap flexibility?

A substantial amount… yet not a complete story.

Gaining visibility into each team’s GAM resources is beneficial. We now know that Atlanta United has greater flexibility compared to the Houston Dynamo, for instance. However, we will require some time to fully understand how teams utilize GAM and the duration these figures remain valid. What is the average GAM expenditure by teams over a season? This remains to be seen.

Ideally, MLS would release updated figures daily in an automated format. Realistically, we should anticipate regular updates at crucial points during the season: roster compliance, the end of the primary window, the close of the secondary window, and at season’s end. Once we have the opportunity to observe a complete annual cycle, we will gain a clearer understanding of GAM usage among teams.

Moreover, without knowledge of each player’s salary budget charge, we are left with significant guesswork if we wish to discuss potential team activities, player targets, and optimal trade partners. We can piece together some information using MLS Players’ Association salary figures and reported transfer fees, but it still requires guesswork. Without a clear understanding of how each team is utilizing GAM and which players it is being applied to, we lack a definitive view on whether teams are employing the allocation effectively and how various strategies may function.

It is also more challenging to determine player trade values without knowing their overall cap charges. For example, how can we ascertain whether a team with $2.5 million in GAM should pursue Leo Campana if we do not know if his budget charge is $600,000 or $1 million? The calculations vary significantly, leaving us to speculate on Campana and other players.

How can we proceed with this information?

We strive to create the clearest possible picture. The clarity is enhanced thanks to the efforts of some at MLS headquarters and around the league working towards greater transparency. This past year, we have seen these GAM figures disclosed, along with roster profiles that the league began compiling and sharing last year.

At this point, we at least have player classifications (TAM, DP, U22, homegrown); the number of guaranteed years per contract (which aids in budget calculations and also impacts trade values) and option years; and we know how much GAM each team has available to utilize.

This allows us to start experimenting with the roster flexibility teams may possess.

For example, consider Miami. By leveraging the MLSPA data and MLS cap regulations while making educated guesses (along with eventual reporting and sourcing), we can provide an informed estimate of what Lionel Messi and his companions might have available for roster construction next year, which we will discuss below.

While a TAM player like Campana presents uncertainty in terms of cap hit, we can utilize his MLSPA figures and reported $2.7 million transfer fee spread over his initial guaranteed term, adding $900,000 annually to his salary. We know the cap impact for DPs and U22s, have an estimate of salaries for the remaining players, and we can be fairly confident in the maximum TAM figures for Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. A variable to consider is the status of Alba’s option year. Will he retain his TAM designation? Will that amount escalate to a DP classification?

The sale of Diego Gomez was pivotal, as if they recover all their expenditures, Miami can convert up to $3 million in GAM to their resources come January.

Assuming Alba remains categorized as a TAM player, Miami should have around $4.78 million to work with before determining their roster structuring method. If Miami maintains the “two DP-four U22” setup, they could access an additional $2 million in GAM. Conversely, if they transition to a “three DP-three U22” approach, that $4.78 million figure would define their cap flexibility.

We should be able to formulate similarly educated estimates across the league. The ambition is that this leads to new, meaningful discussions surrounding rosters, front offices, trade markets, and transfer windows.

MLS may not be completely there — yet — but we can appreciate the advancements made this year.

(Top photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)