US Soccer Protest Offers Lesson for ISL

The United Soccer League Players Association (USLPA) and the league have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for over a year, with the previous agreement expiring at the end of 2025. The contentious talks led to an on-field protest during the opening weekend of the 2026 season, where players on all teams stood still for the first 60 seconds of their matches. Key sticking points in the negotiations include the USLPA's push for increased minimum compensation, standardized health insurance, and guaranteed 12-month contracts for all players. In 2025, approximately 85% of players did not have 12-month contracts, and a quarter were not offered health insurance by their clubs. The union has also contested proposed unilateral contract buyout clauses. The league's most recent public offer includes a minimum compensation of $40,000, mandated health insurance offerings, and 12-month contracts. The USLPA had countered with a minimum demand of $42,000. For comparison, about a quarter of USL Championship players earned less than $35,000 in gross salary under the previous CBA. Tensions escalated when the league office emailed players with information on how to resign their union membership, a move the USLPA described as an attempt to intimidate players and break the union. This occurred after the USLPA membership voted to authorize a strike on February 26, 2026, if a new agreement could not be reached. The USLPA, which signed its first-ever CBA with the league in 2021, represents players in the USL Championship (Division II) and League One (Division III). The unionization of the new top-tier USL Super League for women's soccer also falls under the USLPA's representation. This collective action is not isolated in American soccer; the U.S. Men's National Team first unionized in 1996, and both the men's and women's national teams historically negotiated groundbreaking CBAs that achieved equal pay and equalized FIFA World Cup prize money.