When the subject of Major League Soccer roster rules comes up, most people run screaming.
The processes involved with acquiring and retaining talent in MLS, which is a single-entity league with a salary cap, present detailed rules generally considered difficult for the casual fan to follow.
Some of the rules allow for greater parity in MLS and make for a more intriguing product across the competition but also don't exist in other leagues around the world.
FC Cincinnati's Greg Cochrane, the club's director of soccer finance, helps FCC's staffers cut through the dense rules in order to set the club up for success in the immediate and long terms.
Cochrane, 30, was hired to serve as FCC's full-time "cap-ologist" in late March, and he leans into the roster rules and player-acquisition mechanisms for a living.
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The former Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire FC and San Antonio FC player first took an interest in the thick catalog of MLS roster and salary cap rules when he found himself involved in with series of personnel moves being prepared by then-Galaxy head coach and former two-time United States men's national team manager Bruce Arena in 2013.
"(Arena) said ‘we’re either going to waive you or trade you’ because they won the title in 2011 and 2012," Cochrane said. "When I was there in 2013, he basically said we’re going to go with a more veteran lineup and we’re gonna sign these two fullbacks that both have 10-plus years in the league and one of them is going to make the senior minimum (salary) and is going to be on the supplemental roster, and that’s your roster spot.
"That’s when I got to thinking ‘how the heck can a guy that’s been in the league for 10 years sign the league minimum and be there?’ That’s what spurred me going down a rabbit hole and understanding the nuances of the MLS roster rules."
Cochrane, a native of the Philadelphia region, married a native Cincinnatian and now lives in a neighborhood on the city's east side.
He worked in the banking industry, which complemented his knowledge of MLS as a former player, as well as the league's roster rules. Cochrane also kept an eye on getting back into sports, and with FC Cincinnati entering MLS, the stars aligned for him to make his return to the MLS ranks this spring.
Here's how Cochrane applies his unique skill set: When FC Cincinnati wants to acquire a player, Cochrane is in the room with General Manager Gerard Nijkamp and Director of Scouting and Player Recruitment Hunter Freeman.
Cochrane runs through scenarios and projects out what the financial and other implications will be in the short and long term.
"My job is to make sure that when Gerard makes his decision, he has all the information that he needs from a financial perspective," Cochrane said. "I more or less have to be the pessimistic one in the room, which is funny as that is a complete contrast to who I am personally as I’m a very optimistic person."
FC Cincinnati Director of Soccer Finance Greg Cochrane's quick glossary of MLS roster rules
General allocation money, or "GAM" – The preferred currency among MLS clubs, as Cochrane says, and the most versatile financial asset within MLS for paying down contracts against the salary cap. GAM is a movable, tradeable asset that can be applied pretty much all player contracts including "designated players." And in paying down a contract against the cap, further cap space is made available. Unlike targeted allocation money, or "TAM," GAM can roll over from one year to the next if it isn't used by a team. "Teams would rather be flush with GAM for those reasons. You can do a lot with it," Cochrane said.
Targeted allocation money, or "TAM" – Is was introduced as a financial mechanism by MLS to deepen and strengthen rosters. There are 20 senior roster spots on every MLS roster, and if the first three spots are reserved for top-end players, TAM is for use on the next five players on the roster, give or take, and the word "targeted" makes sense when you consider the limitations on TAM. It can only be used on players with a salary budget charge between about $612,000 and $1.6 million. "The point of TAM is to strengthen the product on the field because, in theory, you're getting higher-end players who are supposed to be contributing day-in, day-out," Cochrane said.
Senior roster – An MLS roster is comprised of 30 roster spots but the players occupying roster slots 1-20 are the ones that count against the salary cap, which in 2021 is $4.9 million. Teams are required to fill at least 18 of the 20 spots and can distribute the $4.9 million among just 18 players.
Supplemental roster – These are players rostered within spots 21-30 and includes three subsets, none of which count against the salary cap.
Players 21-24, which can also include Homegrown and Generation adidas players, earn at least the senior minimum base salary of $81,375.
Players 25-30 earn at least a reserve minimum salary ($63,547 in 2021).
"If you’re not on a the senior roster, it doesn’t apply to the salary cap at all," Cochrane said. "That’s a completely separate thing. If you’re on the senior roster, you count toward the cap. If you’re on the supplemental roster, you do not. With that, if you’re on the supplemental roster, there’s two categories within their depending on which roster spots you fall in, like, 21-24 or 25-30.
"With 21-24 can’t make more than the senior minimum and then if you’re 25-30, you can’t make more than the reserve minimum. Only caveat there is obviously, and Homegrown players can make more."
Designated player – There's a strong connotation attached to this phrase in MLS and it's usually positive. In 2021, a designated player is one of at least 24 years old and carries the "Maximum Salary (cap) Charge" of $612,500. These players, Cochrane explained, are typically the best on the field for most MLS clubs and play at the most critical positions. Teams get into trouble when they "miss" on a designated player signing, which can weigh a team down in terms of finances and other mechanisms such as international roster spots. Teams can only roster three "DP's."
An explanation of MLSPA salary data, which was released last week – Cochrane said there's always a funny feel to the day when the Major League Soccer Players Association dumps league-wide salary data. For those players that are interested (and most players are), you show up to work that day knowing how your personal earnings relate to those of your teammates. That can be a source of consternation for some in MLS locker rooms, although it allows players to come to the bargaining table armed with plenty of information when it comes time to negotiate their next contract.
But for the fans trying to make sense of what all the salary figures mean relative to the salary cap, Cochrane said there are a few things to weigh as you look over the salary figures.
"If people are trying to find what the cap hit is per se, there's things in that that aren't included," Cochrane said. "Acquisition fees, agents fees – that's not disclosed in that."
Signings bonuses hit the salary cap differently depending on how clubs actually disperse the funds.
And while every MLS club has to deal with the salary cap, Cochrane's full-time role at FC Cincinnati is something of a rarity around the league.
Cochrane's position was something FC Cincinnati Chief Executive Officer and Controlling Owner Carl Lindner III also highlighted during an interview with The Enquirer.
A lot of other MLS clubs have employees that concentrate some amount of their time in the areas where Cochrane excels, but they also have to focus on other duties.
For Cochrane, the vast majority of his job is working in concert with Nijkamp, Freeman, head coach Jaap Stam and trying to help them make their roster wants and needs work.
"I like to think this job provides a longer-term view," Cochrane said. "It helps us be competitive now but ensures we aren't selling our future away. "It's that balance of Jaap and Gerard, they want to win today and this weekend but they also have to have that view to the future too. So, for me, anytime that they're debating on a player, I do tell them the financial ramifications and explain to them in detail things like not just the cap stuff but international spots and the senior roster versus supplemental roster. I explain, I lay everything out so they understand the knock-on effects... I'm looking at four, five transfer windows out in terms of every impact that it is has."
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