USL season opens with silent players protest over CBA deadlock

The USL Championship season kicked off Friday with Louisville City FC’s 2-1 win at Lexington SC, but the match began with a silent protest.

Following the opening whistle, players from both sides stood motionless for one minute to highlight stalled CBA negotiations between the league and the USL Players Association (USLPA).

We are proud of our players for standing together today in pursuit of professional standards.

This on-field moment wasn’t about theatrics, but about unity and holding USLHQ accountable.

We are united.
⁰#StandUpForStandards pic.twitter.com/NoKkqGzg5O

— USLPA (@USLPlayers) March 7, 2026

The two sides have been attempting to hammer out a new CBA for players in the USL Championship since August of 2024. The previous deal expired at the end of 2025, though the two sides have been operating under the terms of that agreement as negotiations continued. Talks have been intense, and on Feb. 26, the USLPA membership voted to authorize its bargaining committee to call a strike at any time if it felt an agreement couldn’t be reached otherwise.

The USL and USLPA met as recently as Wednesday with a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, but didn’t appear to be close to reaching an agreement. A league source indicated that the USL has asked the USLPA for dates on when the next bargaining session can take place, but have yet to hear back.

Following Wednesday’s session, The Guardian reported that the USL sent players an email that included, among other items, information on their rights if they cross the picket line, and how they could resign from the USLPA if they wished. The USLPA responded by calling the email “classic union busting in action” and “an effort to scare players out of exercising their rights.”

Shortly after the players’ show of solidarity on Friday night, the USLPA released a statement on Instagram that called the demonstration by the players “a unified show of resolve.”

The post read in part, “This is not symbolic. 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.”

Asked for comment in response to the players’ display on Friday, a USL spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “Our focus remains on returning to the bargaining table and reaching a fair agreement.”

Wednesday’s bargaining session saw some movement in terms of minimum compensation for players, a number that includes salary and a housing allowance.

The USL agreed to raise its offer from $38,500 to $40,000 per year, while the USLPA reduced its demand from $43,000 to $42,000 per year.

“This Wednesday, the league issued an ultimatum that could have possibly remanded 100 players to $30K contracts”, the USLPA said Friday in statement to ESPN. “Since then, we have been considering recent developments and have informed USL that we will be in touch. We will be proposing dates shortly.”

The league noted that, unlike the previous CBA, health insurance is now a separate benefit apart from salary and housing. But union sources countered there is more nuance to what the USL is saying. The USL is also asking to be allowed to sign up to four players to what it calls Entry Contracts – referred to in the previous CBA as “flex contracts” – that would pay $33,000 per year in salary and housing allowances. A league source added, that these are for players under 23 that couldn’t have otherwise signed a USL Championship contract.

The USL also agreed to remove a provision from their offer that would have allowed it to unilaterally buyout three contracts per team over a two-year period. This had been a considerable sticking point for the USLPA in recent weeks, with the union stressing that the presence of such buyouts was something they never agreed to.

The latest offer increased protections for players who are on teams that cease operations. According to the USL, it’s offer states that if a team folds before Dec. 1 of a given year, players will receive six months of salary. If a team folds between Dec. 1 and the start of the following season, the players affected would receive nine months of salary and two months of housing. The USLPA countered that both periods should include two months of housing allowances and health insurance.

The USL has also put in place terms that pay bonuses for players on title-winning teams as well as individual awards. Players will also be compensated for league-level promotional and personal appearances.

The remaining key issues were not discussed at Wednesday’s session. These include a mandate that club’s provide health insurance to players. While there is agreement on both sides that this should be included in the CBA, the issue has been stuck between the USL’s offer that players be given the option to obtain the same policy available to other club employees, while the USLPA wants all players across the league to have access to the same policy. The issue of NIL rights, another key item for players, was also not discussed. Players are asking for $625,000 while the league is offering $125,000.

The talks are taking place amid a push by the USL to implement a separate Division 1 league that would sit on top of the USL Championship while also utilizing a system of promotion relegation beginning as soon as 2028.