The Philadelphia Union announced today that they have acquired up to $225,000 in General Allocation Money from Nashville SC in exchange for two selections in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. These selections are the 46th and 73rd picks.

Specifics on the trade include a guaranteed $50,000 in 2021 General Allocation Money and the extra $175,000 in conditional General Allocation Money depends on certain performance metrics met by players chosen by Nashville in the SuperDraft.

The following is a statement from the Philadelphia Union regarding this announcement.

“Our philosophy is, and continues to be, focused on our academy pipeline as a source for cultivating young talent for our first team,” said Ernst Tanner, Union Sporting Director. “As we see two homegrown players continue on to European leagues and ten total homegrowns on our 2021 roster, we’ve proven that our model and allocation of resources works.”

What is General Allocation Money?

For those who may not know what this means, General Allocation Money is “money that is available to a club in addition to its salary budget”. The amount of General Allocation Money a team has depends on how the club performs that season. Here are some ways in which teams can earn more “GAM”.

• Failure to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs
• Transfer of a club’s player to another club outside of MLS
• Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League

Clubs can then use this General Allocation Money to improve their team. Here are some moves that teams can make using GAM:

• To sign players new to MLS (that is, a player who did not play in MLS during the previous season).
• To re-sign an existing MLS player.
• To offset acquisition costs (loan and transfer fees).
• To reduce the Salary Budget Charge of a Designated Player to a limit of $150,000.

Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union