U.S. Soccer Players Authorize Playing Strike Amid Tense Labor Talks

The American second division could be moved from its scheduled 2026 start date.

The 2026 USL Championship season could be postponed. | Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

The USL Players Association, representing the players of the United Soccer League’s Championship Division, have authorized a strike unless a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the USLPA and the USL can be reached. 

The move, as confirmed by the USL and USLPA, would likely mean that the season would not begin on its scheduled start date of March 6, despite many clubs soon to be completing their preseason preparations.

Both sides have been negotiating a new deal since August 2024, a matter which became more pressing at the end of the 2025 season, with the previous CBA expiring on Dec. 31, 2025. 

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What Are USL Players Asking For?

USL players have been outspoken in their negotiations with the USL. | Courtesy of the USLPA

Negotiations have primarily focused on further professionalizing the USL’s top tier, with players seeking 12-month contracts and wages aligned with other full-time leagues around the world. Overall, the hope is to standardize minimum requirements for players across on and off-pitch activities among all clubs, including housing, facilities and medical care. 

Thus far, the 12-month contracts have been agreed upon. However, a major sticking point in negotiations has been the USL’s proposal for three unilateral buyouts of player contracts over two years, under which the league would pay 75% of a player’s salary in the first year of a contract if bought out and 50% of the salary in subsequent years. Those payments would apply only to base salary—not housing allowances or health insurance.

That falls short of the MLS comparable, which allows two buyouts per season, with the league and club responsible for paying 100% of the remaining contract. 

In addition, issues remain regarding standardized medical insurance for athletes, following the previous CBA's failure to mandate that clubs provide health coverage, even though roughly 80% opted to do so. The USLPA seeks to standardize health coverage across the league, rather than leaving it to individual clubs’ discretion, as the USL would prefer. 

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Player Association Threatens Strike

USL Statement pic.twitter.com/1tbXg7yPz4

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) February 27, 2026

“With one week until kickoff of the 2026 season, United Soccer League Players Association players remain without a new collective bargaining agreement following 547 days of negotiations with the United Soccer League and its USL Championship clubs,” the USLPA said. 

“This week, around 90% of the player pool participated in a vote on the League’s latest proposal. Approximately 90% of the players rejected it and authorized the player-led bargaining committee to take all necessary steps, including calling a strike if negotiations fail to produce a satisfactory agreement.”

“Players are preparing for the start of the Championship season while continuing to push for an agreement that reflects true professional standards. Players are unified in their demand for a fair deal that guarantees basic protections, safe working conditions, and standards that professional athletes deserve.”

Added the USL: “We have been negotiating in good faith with the USLPA for more than a year and remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable collective bargaining agreement. During that time, we have met regularly—including through mediation—and have made meaningful progress on key issues identified by the players.”

Although current negotiations appear to have stalled, the situation made major news at the end of the 2025 season, when the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and FC Tulsa wore shirts emblazoned with the message “Pro Rel? Try Pro Standards First,” ahead of the USL Championship Final. 

The Riverhounds went on to win the title, but did not get a full trophy presentation. The USLPA told Sports Illustrated that it believed the confetti, banners and other materials were on site, but the ceremony was canceled due to the player protest. 

“Players are frustrated because professional soccer cannot succeed without professional standards,” the USLPA said at the time. “Safe working conditions, fair pay and employer-provided healthcare are not optional; they are fundamental to player welfare, the credibility of the League and increased fan interest and engagement.”

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USL Plans New Top Division, South Georgia Tormenta Fold

The USL has become a formative piece of the American soccer system. | Ray Bahner/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

While current negotiations see the 2026 campaign as a pressing concern, the CBA could cover a new USL Premier Division as well, the new first division the USL seeks to create to rival MLS and eventually integrate promotion and relegation throughout the USL system. 

The new system, which the USL intends to open in 2028, would feature a top tier comprising the USL Premier, followed by the professional USL Championship and USL League One, with some inclusion of semi-professional clubs from USL League 2.   

Yet those plans likely come with more issues, especially given that one of USL League One’s prominent clubs, South Georgia Tormenta, announced it would cease operations less than two weeks before the start of the 2026 USL League One season. 

The USLPA told Sports Illustrated that Tormenta players had arrived, completed medical evaluations, signed leases and some had relocated their families. In contrast, international players entered the United States on work visas, only for training never to begin. The club failed to maintain workers’ compensation coverage—a mandatory requirement under the USL League 1 CBA. 

Without coverage, players could not legally or safely participate in formal training.

While the Tormenta and the future of USL Premier are not pressing factors for 2026, they are of greater concern to the USLPA regarding the future of the entire league system. For the USLPA, the key sticking point is that those rising costs and professional standardization efforts translate into better situations for the athletes.

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