Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union

On May 1st MLS superseded unofficial painstaking, tile-by tile construction of roster mosaics and integrated new official contract information alongside freshly authoritative roster data.

Adding contract information to the roster data creates a useful combination. While the new data set is league wide, our focus is Philadelphia.

Details enumerated

Major League Soccer’s official website published “Roster Profiles” for all 29 MLS clubs. It is a new resource.

The data is static, guaranteed accurate only for May 1^st. It serves as a reliable starting point. For example, it does not include May 4th’s signing to the Union first team of previously off-roster Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick .

Here is the Roster Profile announcement verbatim, both via the link and quoted below. Within the linked version there is a second link to the 29 profile pages themselves. Philadelphia’s  page is 23. We have done our best to provide page 23’s information accurately in the Appendix below.

 We have added an illustrative Philadelphia player in bold faced parenthesis where useful. (The italics and the other bold face are both in the original).

“The club roster profiles include the following information:

1. Senior, Supplemental Rosters, and Off-roster Homegrown players

1. 1. Unavailable players are denoted in the report (i.e., players on loan, Season-Ending Injury list, etc.)
   2. Off-roster Homegrown players can appear in MLS matches via a Short-Term Agreement (David Vazquez)

2. Current roster designation
3. Guaranteed contract and option years
4. International roster status
5. Designated Players

1. 1. Denoted in the report are players that cannot be converted from a Designated Player to a non-Designated Player by using Targeted Allocation Money. (Mikael Uhre)

6. U22 Initiative Players (Olwethu Makhanya)

Please note: The club roster profiles are static as of May 1, 2024, and any additions or changes to rosters following that date will not be reflected in this document.” (Andrew Rick, May 4th)

PSP’s comments

• Andrew Rick had already used up his four short-term agreements as an off-roster Homegrown so he is no longer listed as one. He had to be signed to the first team May 4th before the DC match to back up Oliver Semmle. He is guaranteed through 2028 with an option for 2029.
• Holden Trent is now a fourth keeper on the first team’s roster, and as such is probably a candidate to be loaned away, traded, or sold after he fully heals and Jamaica’s run in the Copa America ends this summer.
• Daniel Gazdag is a designated player who can be bought down with TAM (Targeted Allocation Money).
• Olivier Mbaizo’s contract has an option year for 2025.
• By being unavailable on loans away, Richard Odada and Joaquin Torres provide Philadelphia with international roster slot relief, meaning only five such are occupied as of May 1^st. Even though slot eight was sold to Nashville, slot six is available to sign Jose Riasco, and slot seven remains open awaiting future opportunity.
• Jamir Berdecio is on loan through 2024. Were his contract purchased, he would have options through 2028.
• The last guaranteed year for Homegrowns Quinn Sullivan and Brandan Craig is 2024. Each has an option for 2025. That intensifies Craig’s urgency to get playing minutes.
• Since Nick Pariano is Supplemental Slot 31 and Unavailable on loan, we assume he is loaned for 2024 to Philadelphia Union II.
• On May 1st Tom Bogert of The Athletic wrote that Cavan Sullivan has signed his contracts with Philadelphia and Manchester City. There have been no official announcements yet. The U22 Initiative could be used to fit the younger Sullivan under the salary cap if he exceeds the limits of the Homegrown Player Subsidy rule.  It could also be used for Riasco if necessary.

These five are the Union’s 2024 TAM players.

In 2024 their salaries may not be bought down below $150,000. We have no way to know what the individual reductions are. In total for 2024, TAM is $2.4 million, having dropped $300,000 as planned from 2023.

These four players are out of contract after December.

 Appendix

The text below has been edited to make the columns and their information line up properly. The information within the “boxes” of each column is unchanged,  including a probable typo for Nathan Harriel’s guaranteed contract. (PSP’s own records indicate 2025 not 2026.) The heading “Contract” means guaranteed contract but that label did not fit.

The layout is also changed. The imagery and layout are as closely matched to the original as we can manage while keeping everything on one page. But gross layout, highlighting, and text enhancements are not identical to the original.

Bedoya: “Player Professional Development Role”

            NOTES

• *Indicates player is currently unavailable, and club may receive roster/international spot relief, but not Salary Budget relief unless otherwise determined pursuant to the loan agreement.
• ^Player cannot be converted from a Designated Player to a non-Designated Player by using Targeted Allocation Money.
• Off-roster Homegrown players can appear in MLS matches via a Short-Term Agreement.