Earlier today, Major League Soccer released the roster profiles of every club in the league. The disclosure was a welcome surprise — MLS aren't known for their transparency, and this sudden and unexpected data drop sheds some light on the category and contract status of every player signed as of May 1, 2024.
Some speculate that the roster release is in response to ongoing questions about players signed by Inter Miami CF. The club added several high-profile players in the past year, and questions remain how a team that now has Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suárez – players who reportedly made a combined $118 million before joining Miami – could possibly account for their payroll with the league's salary cap of $5,470,000 plus $2.4 million in Targeted Allocation Money, more in tradable General Allocation Money, and sky's-the-limit Designated Player slots.
The truth is, questions about Miami's roster persist. According to the roster profiles, Messi, Busquets, and Leonardo Campana are the team's Designated Players, and account for just over $2 million against the salary cap. But Alba, Suarez, Nicolás Freire, Julian Gressel, and Sergii Kryvtsov are TAM players, and add another $3.4 million. Somehow, Miami fit the remaining 12 players on the Senior Roster under the salary cap, presumably through a combination of GAM, U22 Initiatives, witchcraft, magical thinking, and baksheesh.
But enough about them. Let's talk about New York City FC.
We combed through the NYCFC roster profile, and made the following five observations — and calculated the club's available GAM this year.
1. Three U22s = good business
New York City are taking full advantage of the U22 Initiative, and using all three slots allowed to the club. They're assigned to high-profile signings Julián Fernández (20), Jovan Mijatović (18), and Agustín Ojeda (19). Because the three are all 20 years old or younger, they account for just $150,000 each against the salary cap. That's $450,000 total.
Fernández and Ojeda are already having a positive impact, with three goals and two assists between them. Their combined five goal involvements account for almost half of the team's 11 goals this season.
2. TAM, U22s, DPs
TAM and DP slots account for the same $683,750 hit on the salary cap. A Young Designated Player ages 21-23 accounts for $200,000. New York City's four TAM players, two DPs, and one Young DP come out to a salary cap hit of $4,302,500.
Add the three U22s, and you have a salary cap hit of $4,752,500 for 10 players. That leaves $717,500 for the remaining 10 players on the Senior Roster before factoring in GAM.
3. About that GAM
Every club is allocated $2,585,000 in GAM. It's a commodity that can be traded — New York City will receive $50,000 in GAM from DC United for Cody Mizell after he signed on to be goalkeepers coach, and $200,000 from Columbus for Malte Amundsen. In addition, New York City could get $50,000 in GAM from Seattle Sounders for trading the College Protected Period Priority of Braudilio Rodriguez if performance benchmarks are met.