In a move that caught the North American soccer punditry by surprise, Major League Soccer published the General Allocation Money available to each club in 2025. The public disclosure arrives in the same year that the league revealed the roster profile of each club, which documented the size of each squad and the official status of every player.
GAM has been one of the great budgetary mysteries in MLS. Every year, each team is allocated a set amount (it's $2.93 million in 2025). But a club's final figure can be altered by a number of means, including trading GAM to another organization, converting up to $3 million in eligible transfer fees (it's complicated), qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, not qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs, assessing a third Designated Player charge distribution, and losing a player to the MLS Expansion Draft (which happened to New York City FC). Because clubs weren't compelled to release their GAM figures in the past, it forced journalists, experts, and fans to speculate about the salary available to each team.
That changed today.
Major League Soccer | 2025 General Allocation Money*
| Club | GAM | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Atlanta United | $6,503,478 |
| 2. | New England | $5,585,931 |
| 3. | St. Louis City SC | $5,306,579 |
| 4. | San Diego FC | $5,095,000 |
| 5. | Minnesota United FC | $4,547,572 |
| 6. | FC Dallas | $4,482,846 |
| 7. | FC Cincinnati | $4,225,000 |
| 8. | Philadelphia Union | $4,220,769 |
| 9. | Seattle Sounders FC | $4,215,203 |
| 10. | Real Salt Lake | $4,133,765 |
| 11. | Orlando City SC | $3,990,312 |
| 12. | Colorado Rapids | $3,980,215 |
| 13. | New York Red Bulls | $3,879,130 |
| 14. | LAFC | $3,770,022 |
| 15. | Vancouver | $3,658,458 |
| 16. | San Jose | $3,550,810 |
| 17. | Sporting Kansas City | $3,390,955 |
| 18. | D.C. United | $3,383,240 |
| 19. | Toronto FC | $3,318,648 |
| 20. | Inter Miami CF | $3,300,159 |
| 21. | New York City FC | $3,285,135 |
| 22. | Columbus Crew | $3,173,205 |
| 23. | Austin FC | $3,162,071 |
| 24. | Charlotte FC | $2,976,404 |
| 25. | CF Montréal | $2,948,106 |
| 26. | Chicago Fire FC | $2,931,721 |
| 27. | Portland Timbers | $2,767,783 |
| 28. | Nashville SC | $2,512,683 |
| 29. | LA Galaxy | $2,416,000 |
| 30. | Houston Dynamo | $2,063,538 |
* Available to each club as of December 10, 2024
New York City sit toward the bottom of the 2025 GAM table, with $3,285,135 available as of the publication of this post. On top of the $2.93 million automatically allocated to the club, NYCFC received $50,000 from DC United for goalkeeper Luis Barraza, and $50,000 from the league when San Diego FC selected Thiago Andrade in the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft. (San Diego then traded the forward to Toronto FC for up to $250,000 in conditional GAM.)
But the rest of New York City's GAM dealings remain obscured. Earlier this year, MLS announced that clubs could choose one of two roster constructions: The Designated Player Model, which allows up to three Designated Players and up to three U22 Initiative slots, and the U22 Initiative Player Model, which allows one Designated Player slot to be exchanged for an additional U22 Initiative slot plus an additional $1 million in GAM.
New York City opted for the U22 model in 2024. The club will likely choose the U22 model again in 2025, but it has yet to be confirmed.
What is certain is that NYCFC enter the offseason with nearly $3.3 million in available GAM.
Oliver Strand
Hudson River Blue Staff
