The United Soccer League (USL) and the USL Players Association (USLPA) will resume talks on Thursday towards a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for players in the USL Championship, but the two sides remain far apart on some key issues, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told ESPN.
The talks are taking place amid a push by the USL to institute a separate Division 1 league that would sit on top of the USL Championship while also implementing a system of promotion and relegation beginning as soon as 2028.
The previous CBA expired on Dec. 31, 2025.
The main issues are focused on compensation and benefits for players on the lower end of the pay scale. Sources said that the union and the league have agreed on implementing a standard contract length of 12 months, instead of the 10 months stipulated by the previous CBA. This had been a sore spot for the USLPA given that being a professional soccer player is essentially a year-round job.
Another issue being negotiated is health insurance for players. The previous CBA didn’t mandate that clubs provide health insurance, though around 80% of the teams opted to do so.
According to sources, the league and union have agreed that some form of insurance should be offered by every team but the USLPA wants a standardized health insurance policy across the USL Championship while the league wants it to be at the discretion of individual clubs.
Under current rules, if a player is injured in a game or practice, they must file a workman’s compensation claim with the state where they reside. If a player lives in a state where workman’s compensation isn’t available to them, the team must provide access to a similar policy.
Until a new CBA is agreed upon and ratified by both parties, the league is continuing to operate under the terms of the previous CBA both in terms of contract length and health insurance. Multiple sources showed proposed contracts to ESPN that don’t include health insurance.
“Clubs are currently free to issue 2026 player contracts under existing terms, without the baseline professional standards that are still being negotiated,” the USLPA said in a statement to ESPN. “As a result, one-fifth of Championship clubs are still executing contracts that do not include any options for health insurance, and roughly half of the 2026 contracts we have reviewed are for terms shorter than 12 months.”
The USLPA added that operating under the status quo underscores “the real, immediate impact of these negotiations.”
The biggest sticking point is around compensation. The previous CBA operated under a two-tier structure for players on the low end of the pay scale. Teams can sign up to six players to a “flex minimum” contract paying $26,000 over the course of a season, a number that can include salary, bonuses, health insurance and a housing allowance. Other players can be signed to what is called a “contract minimum” of $31,000 over the course of the season.
The current negotiations have the league offering just over a 20% increase from the contract minimum, which would amount to around $38,000 a year. The USLPA is asking for a 40% increase to 43,400 per season. Those numbers don’t include health insurance and bonuses, which would be tacked on as additional benefits. Housing would still be included in the contracted amount. The number of flex contracts allowed per team is still being negotiated.
The USL declined to comment, but sources with knowledge of the league’s thinking contend that what is being proposed by the union is too big a jump for one CBA, and that the USL is proposing what it feels is a “stair-step” approach. The league contends that more than 90% of the league’s players make above the current contract minimum.
The last major obstacle surrounds licensing of player image and likeness rights. In the current CBA, the USLPA receives $25,000 from the league for licensing. This time around, the union is asking for an increase to around $600,000, which is on par with what players in the Professional Women’s Hockey League receive. The league wants to limit that amount to around $125,000.
