MLS and players union agree to one-week extension to work on new contract

With the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Soccer and its players union set to expire Friday, the two sides agreed Thursday to extend the current deal a week in an effort to get a new contract signed. MLS and the union announced the extension in a two-sentence joint statement Thursday: “Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Players Association today announced that they have agreed to extend the current collective bargaining agreement through February 7, 2020. Negotiations for a new contract come at a time of rapid growth for the league, which has added 10 teams since the last labor agreement. That could endanger not only the start of the season, which begins Feb. 29, but it could also impact the CONCACAF Champions League, which features five MLS teams and begins Feb. 18.