A ‘roster profile’ has been published by MLS for each of the 29 teams in preparation for the 2024 season. This profile details the contract durations and classifications of every player.
The league aims to enhance the clarity and comprehensibility of the roster composition regulations, which frequently involve designated players, TAM players, and U22 initiative players, for the benefit of the supporters. Although MLS teams are obligated to adhere to stringent salary limitations, several exemptions are granted in the case of exceptional athletes.
The three senior DP positions at Inter Miami are occupied by Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Leonardo Campana, all of whom earn annual salaries in excess of the utmost of $683,750. Prior to this announcement, Messi earned $20.4 million annually from Inter Miami; however, the duration of his contract remained obscure.
At first, it was speculated that Lionel Messi’s contract would bind him to the club through the conclusion of the 2025 season, with an additional year of service option. The new roster profile, however, indicates that his contract does not contain a formal clause extending his employment through 2026.
Read More: Lionel Messi is approaching a significant milestone that Cristiano Ronaldo also holds.
Define an MLS TAM participant.
Due to MLS financial restrictions, Inter Miami faces challenges in procuring the required personnel compensation to entice their star-studded roster. Besides Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Busquets and Campana, the Herons have also acquired seasoned professionals such as Nicolas Freire and Julian Gressel.
TAM members Alba, Suarez, Freire, and Gressel all have ‘Targeted Allocation Money’ administered in addition to their regular salaries. Each MLS club is allocated a transferable amount of money (TAM) at the commencement of each season in order to supplement their first team. These funds may be utilised to finance new acquisitions or, as Inter Miami does, to “buy down” a player’s salary in order to prevent them from occupying one of three designated player positions.
Inter Miami, for instance, pays Luis Suarez an annual remuneration of $200,000, which is significantly less than what he could earn elsewhere. Nonetheless, TAM contributions may increase his compensation to a maximum of $1,651,250.
Despite initial fitness concerns, Suarez, age 37, has established himself as a tremendous success in his first few months in Major League Soccer. In fourteen contests with the Herons, the Uruguayan has tallied nine goals and provided six assists. Although he was spared for last weekend’s victory over the New England Revolution, he scored in the final minutes off the bench.
