MLS Discovery Rights: What are they, how do they work, what they mean for Kevin de Bruyne’s future

Due to Major League Soccer being a salary cap league, there are many roster mechanisms that are unlike those usually seen in the global game of soccer, from needing to use General Allocation Money to purchase players and buy down salaries to having a draft for players coming out of college. Mechanisms like this are standard to American sports fans as every league has quirks that come with it, but due to the global reach of MLS and its place in the global soccer market, more people are beginning to learn about these quirks by the day.

One that has come up quite a lot since players like Marco Reus and Lionel Messi came to the league is Discovery Rights and the Discovery List.

So what do they mean?

What are Discovery Rights?

This has existed since the league was formed in 1996 and allows a team to list up to five players who are not under contract with MLS or attached to another assignment mechanism. These players can’t be current MLS players, players who have played in MLS previously, draft-eligible or homegrown-eligible players, or free agents, along with a few other stipulations. A team can add or remove anyone from their list at any time, and there is no limit to how many players who can be signed via this mechanism.

If multiple clubs want to add the same player to this list, the one with a claim at an earlier date will have the right to the player, but if they were added on the same day, the club with the lowest points per game will have priority. 

Movement of rights

If a club removes someone from their Discovery List, another club can add them, which was the case with Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian was on San Diego FC’s list, but when they had to trim their list from seven to five players (expansion sides are allowed an extra two players until roster compliance), Inter Miami then added the Belgian to their list. The Chicago Fire are reportedly interested and are the favorites to sign him as Inter Miami already have their three allotted designated players. Another way of moving a player’s rights is that a team can offer $50,000 in GAM in exchange for the right to sign a player. At that time, the team has to accept the money and pass their rights on or make the player a genuine offer. 

That can lead to negotiation between teams, which is how Marco Reus’ rights ended up costing the LA Galaxy $400,000 dollars which still stands as the highest sum paid for Discovery Rights. Reus reportedly wanted to join the Galaxy over Charlotte when departing Dortmund, but since Charlotte made a genuine offer, they didn’t have to accept the initial offer, leading to negotiation where they had leverage.

What could come next?

Of course, the Reus situation leads to the question of what if Charlotte didn’t come to an agreement and he wasn’t allowed to sign with the Galaxy? That’s something that could end up being a bad look for the league, but those types of scenarios are also on the radar of MLS moving forward.

“We’re looking at things that will not only streamline it, but reduce significantly the conflict that happens among teams, who both seem to think they should have the Discovery Rights to a player, and that’s been put on our agenda for this year by the sporting competition committee, “MLS EVP of Player Strategy and Relations Todd Durbin said. “We’re looking at things like … having a fixed sort of compensation that moves among teams so there’s no friction, and perhaps reducing the number of players that actually could be discoverable.”