Tag: Omar Gonzalez

A full breakdown of what TAM is can be found in MLS’ 2015 Roster Rules. From what I’ve read, here’s what’s important. Every team gets $500,000 of TAM over five seasons. On paper, it’s allocated as $100,000 per season. In practice, teams can use all of it right away. Teams have to use or trade the $100,000 they get each season in that season or the season following though. TAM is similar to regular Allocation Money in that it can be used to “buy down” a player’s salary budget charge, or reduce their cap hit in layman’s terms. Like regular Allocation Money, TAM can be traded. However, TAM and Allocation Money cannot be used together on the same player. TAM can only be used on players earning more than the maximum salary budget charge ($436,250 in 2015). Because of this, TAM is intended to be used to buy down an incoming player or existing player so that they don’t take up a Designated Player slot. However, if an existing DP is bought down with TAM, a club must immediately sign a new DP at a salary equal to or higher than what the old DP was making. In essence, it’s what many predicted would come out of the offseason CBA negotiations, just a few months late and with a bit more flexibility. Teams can use TAM to un-DP a player who under the old rules would have had the DP label but only a mid-level paycheque. If they have enough TAM and enough players in the right salary range, clubs could in theory un-DP multiple players, as clubs can use TAM on three players in a given season. READ MORE