Theoretically, Real Salt Lake's game against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup on Sunday could be the last for quite a while.
That's because the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Soccer and its players union is set to expire Jan. 31, raising the possibility of a strike or a lockout delaying the start of next season.
"Any discussion about a strike or a work stoppage at this point is totally premature," league commissioner Don Garber said on a conference call this week. "It's way too early for anybody to be coming to that conclusion."
Still, Garber acknowledged "difficult" negotiations that RSL's Nat Borchers -- one of two union representatives on his team -- said will require compromise on both sides. Management and union reps plan to meet the day after the MLS Cup in Seattle, after getting together several times during the past six months.
"Nobody wants a work stoppage," Borchers said, "but anything is possible."
Mostly, the players want guaranteed contracts and a greater ability to negotiate new deals.
Currently, contracts are not guaranteed and teams are not obligated to pay players for the full season if they release them by July 1. Teams also can retain the "rights" to players they release, forcing other teams to trade for those rights before they can sign those players.
Changing any of that, however, is complicated by the league's "single-entity" ownership structure, under which the league -- rather than individual teams -- controls all player contracts.
Garber and Borchers both said they're hopeful a deal will be reached.
"We've given so much in the last deal," Borchers said. "We just want to make sure this one is fair."
Next season is scheduled to begin March 25.
