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United Soccer League Opens With On-Field Player Protest Over CBA Talks

The 2026 season began without a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Ben Steiner|
The 2026 USL Championship season began on Friday night.
The 2026 USL Championship season began on Friday night. | Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

The 2026 USL Championship season opened Friday with a protest, as negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the USL Players Association (USLPA) continue to stall. 

The players of Louisville City FC and Lexington SC stood motionless and silent for one minute upon the game’s opening whistle.

“This is not symbolic,” the USLPA wrote on Instagram after Friday’s protest. “Negotiations have reached a decisive stage where players have to take a stand. Players will continue to speak up until a fair agreement is reached. The next move belongs to League headquarters.”

Following the protest, Louisville went on to secure a 2–1 win, posting the first result in the American second division. 

The USL and USLPA have been in negotiations for the majority of the last two years, with efforts to hammer out a deal beginning in August 2024, before the previous contract expired at the end of 2025. 

The terms of the previous agreement stand as the current operating procedure, and on Feb. 26, the USLPA authorized a player strike at any time if a new deal is not reached. 

Friday’s event was not the first protest made on the topic, either. 

The 2025 USL Championship Final last November saw the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and FC Tulsa wear shirts emblazoned with the message “Pro Rel? Try Pro Standards First.” The Riverhounds’ championship celebration banner and stage were cancelled at the end of the match, which the USLPA told Sports Illustrated was a move of frustration by the USL. 

Where Do Negotiations Stand, and What Are the Main Issues?

USL Championship
The 2026 USL Championship season could stop at anytime. | Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

CBA negotiations continued into the final weeks of the offseason, with a session as recent as Wednesday with a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The USL moved its minimum compensation for players, which includes both salary and housing allowance, from $38,500 to $40,000 per year, while the USLPA reduced its demand to $42,000 per year. 

The USL agreed to remove an initial request for three unilateral buyouts of player contracts over two years, which was a considerable point for the USLPA. Other issues include the state of the players’ health insurance, which has not been standardized across all USL Championship clubs, as well as what the USL calls “flex contracts,” which, according to ESPN, would pay $33,000 per year in salary and housing, intended for U23 players. 

Several other sticking points remain, including Name, Image and Likeness rights, before the two sides can reach a deal. 

Following Wednesday’s session, players received an email from the USL that included information on their rights and the process involved in splitting from the USLPA. The USLPA responded with a statement, which alleged that the USL was making “an effort to scare players out of exercising their rights.” The dates of the next session remain unknown.

The USL and USLPA will need to find a resolution soon, as the USL targets a first-division USL Premier as early as 2028, which would open the possibility of promotion and relegation among the USL Premier, USL Championship, and USL League 1.

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Ben Steiner
BEN STEINER

Ben Steiner is an American-Canadian journalist who brings in-depth experience, having covered the North American national teams, MLS, CPL, NWSL, NSL and Liga MX for prominent outlets, including MLSsoccer.com, CBC Sports, and OneSoccer.

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