MLS fines RSL owner for comments about free agency


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SANDY — Major League Soccer has fined Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen for disparaging comments made about free agency in a recent interview with a local sports radio station, the league announced Friday.

The league does not disclose financial information regarding fines, but ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle reported late Friday that the fine was for $150,000, which would be the largest fine to a franchise investor-operator (as MLS refers to its team owners) in league history.

League representatives and members of the MLS Players' Union are currently in talks regarding a new collective bargaining agreement, and players have publicly stated a strong position for including free agency as part of the next agreement.

Hansen told ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City last week that negotiations around free agency are "one of those real waste-of-time conversations." He later clarified that such conversations were baseless because "free agency ... can't exist where everyone's employed by the same employer" in reference to MLS's single-entity structure.

The league does not have free agency like other major sports leagues in America, as each franchise is officially owned by the league, which also handles incoming player contracts through commissioner Don Garber and the league's headquarters in New York City.

"The comments made by Mr. Hansen are not permitted under the league’s constitution," Garber said in a statement. "We are engaged in constructive negotiations with our players and such comments are not appropriate nor helpful to the negotiations.”

The current CBA has been temporarily extended through the start of the 2015 season, which is set to kick off Friday when the defending MLS Cup champion L.A. Galaxy play the Chicago Fire at 8 p.m. MT on UniMas. Players have publicly stated they could initiate the league's first-ever player work stoppage if their demands are not met on free agency and other matters by the start of the season.

RSL opens the season Saturday on the road against the Portland Timbers, with its home opener scheduled for a week later against the Philadelphia Union.

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsReal Salt Lake
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast