Football is the world’s game. There’s no denying that. With professional leagues all over the world, different rules and regulations govern each league making them unique. Major League Soccer is no exception to this rule. With different roster-building mechanisms, international slots, designated players, U22 slots, GAM, TAM, and a myriad of constraints, MLS General Managers have their hands full. With these roster-building mechanisms comes a greater similarity to other American professional sports leagues like the NBA or NFL rather than other elite-level football leagues across the world.
In September of 2024, MLS announced a new classification of roster construction models that teams could choose to structure their rosters around. Teams have the option to either utilize the U22 Initiative model (2 Designated Players, 4 U22 slots, and an additional $2 Million GAM) or the designated player model (3 DP’s/3 U22, no additional GAM)
Clubs that choose the U22 Initiative model will receive an additional 2 million dollars in general allocation money. These clubs must use the GAM allotted under the roster building model designation by the roster freeze date (September 12th, 2025). Clubs are allowed to trade this $2,000,000 GAM to other MLS clubs, under the condition that the money is used by the roster freeze date.
Clubs can change their preferred roster construction model from July 1st, 2025 to the close of the secondary window on August 21st, 2025. If a club wants to switch from the U22 to the DP model, 1 million dollars or less in General Allocation Money must be spent, and the team must have 3 or fewer U22 players on their roster. If a club wants to switch from the DP to the U22 model, they only get 1 million dollars in GAM that they must invest by the end of the season, and have no more than 2 designated players on the roster when they make the switch.
This new model allows teams, general managers, and ownership groups to take into consideration what they want the sporting image of their clubs to be in the future. This level of transparency that is published by MLS each year allows for people from casual fans to aspiring industry professionals like myself to gain greater insight as to how the teams I support and admire operate, and how these clubs choose to build their rosters. Let’s take a look at each club that competed in the 2024 MLS season, their roster construction model, and how they finished the regular season.
The Western Conference
LAFC-(U22 Initiative Player Model) DP’s- Olivier Giroud, Denis Bouanga U22’s- Omar Campos, David Martinez, Cristian Olivera
🏆MLS Cup Champs: LA Galaxy-(Designated Player Model) DP’s- Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec(Young DP), Riqui Puig. U22’s- Julian Aude, Dejan Joveljic
Real Salt Lake-(U22 Initiative Player Model) DP’s- Cristian Arango, Diogo Goncalves. U22’s- Diego Luna, Dominik Marczuk, Braian Ojeda, Nelson Palacio
Seattle Sounders-(Designated Player Model) DP’s- Pedro De La Vega (Young DP) Raul Ruidiaz, Albert Rusnak. U22’s- Josh Atencio, Leo Chu
Houston Dynamo-(Designated Player Model) DP’s- Sebastian Ferreira, Hector Herrera, Ezequiel Ponce, U22’s- Ibrahim Aliyu, Lawrence Ennali, Nelson Quinones
Minnesota United FC-(Designated Player Model) Joaquin Pereyra, Teemu Pukki, Kelvin Yeboah. U22’s- Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Sang Bin Jeong
Colorado Rapids-(Designated Player Model) Dp’s- Kevin Cabral, Djordje Mihailovic, Rafael Navarro. U22’s-Cole Bassett
Vancouver Whitecaps-(Designated Player Model) DP’s- Stuart Armstrong, Andres Cubas, Ryan Gauld. U22’s- Deiber Caicedo, Edier Ocampo, Pedro Vite.
Portland Timbers-(U22 Initiative Player Model)- DP’s- Evander, Jonathan Rodriguez. U22’s- Antony, David Ayala, Santiago Moreno.
Austin FC-(U22 Initiative Player Model)- DP’s- Osman Bukari, Sebastian Driussi. U22’s- Zan Kolmanic
FC Dallas-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Jesus Ferreira, Petar Musa, Alan Velasco(YDP) U22’s Geovane De Jesus, Enes Sali
St. Louis City SC-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Roman Burki, Marcel Hartel, Joao Klauss. U22’s- Chris Durkin, Jake Girdwood Reich
Sporting Kansas City-(Designated Player Model)-DP’s Alan Pulido, Nemanja Radoja, Daniel Salloi. U22’s- Logan Ndenbe, Robert Voloder
San Jose Earthquakes(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Cristian Espinoza, Carlos Gruezo, Hernan Lopez. U22’s- None.
One thing that stood out to me from this analysis of the Western Conference is the wide split between the two roster construction models. Only four teams in the West chose to structure their rosters according to the U22 initiative model (Portland, RSL, LAFC, and Austin FC). It is important to note that some players on these U22-constructed teams, such as Santiago Moreno, MLS Young Player of The Year Diego Luna, and LAFC’s Cristian Olivera, had breakout seasons in 2024. Out of the four teams in the Western Conference who structured their rosters according to the U22 initiative, LAFC stands out the most. David Martinez and Cristian Olivera both earned moves to Cruz Azul and Gremio respectively. It is also worth noting that there are teams who showed incredible amounts of success in the West under the Designated Player roster construction model, including 2024 Cup champions LA Galaxy. Their 2024 DP’s, affectionately known as the “Killer P’s” were widely considered to be the most lethal attacking line in MLS.
The Eastern Conference
🛡️Supporters Shield: Inter Miami CF-(U22 Initiative Player Model)- DP’s- Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi. U22’s- Tomas Aviles, Benjamin Cremaschi, Facundo Farias, Federico Redondo, Emerson Rodriguez.
Columbus Crew-(Designated Player Model)-DP’s- Cucho Hernandez, Darlington Nagbe, Diego Rossi. U22’s- Marino Hinestroza, Alexandru Matan.
FC Cincinnati-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s-Luciano Acosta, Nicholas Giacchini, Obinna Nwobodo. U22’s- Marco Angulo, Kevin Kelsy.
Orlando City SC-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres. U22’s-Ramiro Enrique, Heine Gikling Bruseth, Gaston Gonzalez.
Charlotte FC-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Liel Abada(Young DP), Pep Biel, Karol Swiderski. U22’s-Nikola Petkovic, Idan Toklomati, Kerwin Vargas.
New York City FC-(U22 Initiative Player Model)- DP’s- Talles Magno(Young DP, Unavailable-Loan), Thiago Martins, Santiago Rodriguez. U22’s- Nicolas Acevedo, Julian Fernandez, Jovan Mijatovic, Agustin Ojeda.
🥈MLS Cup Runners Up: New York Red Bulls-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Felipe Carballo, Emil Forsberg, Dante Vanzeir. U22’s- Noah Eile, Dennis Gjengaar.
CF Montreal-(U22 Initiative Player Model)-DP’s- Victor Wanyama. U22’s- George Campbell, Sunusi Ibrahim, Joaquin Sosa.
Atlanta United-(U22 Initiative Player Model)-DP’s- Alexey Miranchuk, Bartosz Slisz. U22’s- Franco Ibarra, Edwin Mosquera, Santiago Sosa.
DC United-(Designated Player Model)-DP’s- Christian Benteke, Mateusz Klich, Matti Peltola(Young DP). U22’s- Theodore Ku-Dipietro, Gabriel Pirani.
Toronto FC-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Federico Bernadeschi, Lorenzo Insigne, Richie Laryea. U22’s- Cassius Mailula.
Philadelphia Union-(U22 Initiative Player Model)-DP’s- Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre. U22’s- Olwethu Makhanya.
Nashville SC-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge, Walker Zimmerman.
New England Revolution-(Designated Player Model)- DP’s- Tomas Chancalay, Carles Gil, Giacomo Vrioni. U22’s- Dylan Borrero, Luca Langoni.
Chicago Fire FC-(U22 Initiative Player Model)-DP’s-Hugo Cuypers, Gaston Gimenez. U22’s- Brian Gutierrez, Georgios Koutsias, Federico Navarro.
A common trend across the league, teams choosing to construct their rosters under the U22 initiative model are in the minority of the Eastern Conference. Six out of 15 Eastern Conference sides have chosen to utilize the U22 roster construction model. Most notably, Supporters Shield winners Inter Miami CF have chosen to utilize the u22 model, even though their roster is full of superstars. Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets occupy designated player slots, while fellow star players Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba are on TAM contracts.
Will we see more teams choose to classify themselves as U-22 roster models in the future? Potentially. This idea that designated players have a greater impact on their squads is not new. Designated players have been around for years, and generally speaking, clubs have been able to consistently rely on their DPs. As the league trends in the direction of cementing itself as the premier destination for the talent development of younger players, the U22 slot will become increasingly valuable to MLS clubs. These additional U22 roster spots, along with the extra general allocation money will cater to these clubs looking to bring in younger talent. Choosing to focus on developing younger talent may present additional opportunities for financial return on the initial investment made on these U22 players.
There is a case to be made however for the importance of choosing the designated player model. MLS Cup 2024 featured two teams that chose to build their rosters around their designated players, and the designated players on each of these teams made important contributions during the title game and throughout the 2024 campaign. Designated Players have always been important to the success of MLS. These individuals have been the playmakers, the superstars, and the club and league legends.
We have seen both models of roster construction work. During the 2024 season, there were teams with the DP model that found immense amounts of success, and then there were also teams who struggled. The same can be said with teams who have chosen to utilize the u22 initiative model. How the roster construction model will play an impact is up to the teams and how they see themselves defining their future success as clubs. These roster construction models aren’t meant to place MLS clubs into metaphorical boxes forever. Are all roster construction models created equally? It depends on the needs of the club. The adaptability of these roster construction models allows for finding and sourcing talent according to the direction in which individual clubs want to trend. Designated players will be a part of this league for a long time but as MLS trends in the direction of being the place for young talent, we will see more clubs shift to the U22 initiative roster construction model. In my opinion a win for everyone.