NEW YORK (Friday, March 6, 2026) – Today, MLS published the current amount of 2026 General Allocation Money available to clubs as of February 20 following Roster Compliance. This allows fans and media members to evaluate each club’s roster-building flexibility during the season in conjunction with the Club Roster Profiles.
All club roster profiles can be found HERE, which now includes the amount of 2026 GAM available to clubs.
Please note: The available 2026 General Allocation Money in this document is as of Roster Compliance on Feb. 20, 2026. Any transactions involving GAM following Roster Compliance are not accounted for in the totals.
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The guide below provides more information about how General Allocation Money can be utilized by clubs to add more talented players to their rosters.
Buying Down a Player’s Salary Budget Charge
General Allocation Money can be used to "buy-down" a player's Salary Budget Charge as part of managing a club's roster, including buying down a Salary Budget Charge below the league maximum of $803,125 in 2026. A club can also use GAM to reduce a player's Salary Budget Charge to the lesser of 50% of the Salary Budget Charge or $150,000.
Example: A club may buy-down a player earning $800,000 to a Salary Budget Charge of $400,000 by using $400,000 of General Allocation Money.
Buying Down a Loan or Transfer Fee
A club may “buy down” 100% of a loan or transfer fee by utilizing General Allocation Money.
Example: Club pays $500,000 to acquire a player via transfer and applies $500,000 in General Allocation Money to the player’s Salary Budget Charge.
Signing a Homegrown Player
Clubs may use up to $200,000 of their currently available General Allocation Money to sign new Homegrown Players to their first MLS contract, which allows them to be placed on the club’s Supplemental Roster subject to league review and approval.
Example: A club signs a Homegrown player and applies $125,000 in GAM to the player’s Salary Budget Charge.
Trades
General Allocation Money can be used in trades to acquire players, international roster slots, SuperDraft Priority, Discovery Priority, and Homegrown Priority in addition to selection position in MLS SuperDraft, Re-Entry Process, and Waivers.
Example: Minnesota United FC acquired Drake Callender from Charlotte FC in exchange for $450,000 in GAM – $350,000 in 2026 GAM and $100,000 2027 GAM – and up to an additional $300,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance-based metrics were met.
