The Chicago Fire are set to unveil Robert Lewandowski, the biggest signing in team history tomorrow.
Here’s our updated Roster Tracker showing the shifts that will enable the Fire will fit Poland’s all-time leading goal-scorer on the Fire roster ‒ and the status of the Fire’s roster with the transfer window open now through early September.
1. Switch to a 3 DP/3 U22 Model
Since David Beckham’s arrival to MLS in 2007, the league has allowed teams to essentially circumvent the league’s salary cap and pay a select number of Designated Players (DPs) unlimited amounts.
More recently, the league introduced the U22 Initiative, allowing players to spend unlimited amounts on transfer fees to bring in you
ng (under 22 years old at the time of the deal) talent into the league.
In introducing the U22 Initiative, they gave teams a choice: They could have three DPs and three U22 players, or two DPs and four U22s along with $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) that essentially adds to a team’s salary cap.
The Fire had been operating in a 2 DP/4 U22 model but as of today, they have switched and will have 3 DPs, with Robert Lewandowski joining Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers on that designation.
Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter had indicated that the Fire intended to move to a 3 DP/3 U22 model in the long term, making serious attempts to sign Neymar Jr. and Kevin de Bruyne before switching focus towards Lewandowski. As a result, the Fire had planned ahead for the switch, deliberately budgeting for players that could be moved off of the designation.
As a result, as of today, Puso Dithejane, signed this winter, will no longer be a U22 Initiative player. The change is purely a roster and salary cap maneuver, and does not affect the South African’s contract ‒ or his eligibility to play for the Fire.
By signing him to a U22 deal, however, the Fire were essentially able to amortize away a portion of his transfer fee for free (and net some GAM usable in the first half of the year), making the signing a smart cap move.
2. International slot acquisition
MLS teams are limited to the number of international players that they can have on their roster. Teams are given, by default, eight slots for international players, with U.S. citizens as well as permanent residents (“Green Card holders”) considered domestic for roster purposes.
Although the number of international slots in the league is fixed, the number per team is not.
The Fire have previously acquired an additional three international slots, bringing their total to 11. That is still one short of the number they will need to roster Lewandowski, enabling him to be eligible to play on Thursday.
The most likely route for the Fire, and one which sources familiar with the team’s plans have indicated is the one that they are pursuing, is to use is acquiring another slot via trade, most likely for GAM but other assets are tradable.
There are a number of unused slots in the league, and the number will fluctuate throughout the window as some international players are sold while others arrive and some players acquire permanent residency.
3. Franco Remains on Short-Term Injury List
Early in the year, the Fire placed midfielder André Franco on the short-term injury list. Like the better-known season-ending injury list, the short-term list opens that player’s roster slot, including, in Franco’s case, the international slot they used. To be eligible to be on the list, the player must not play for at least six league games.
Unlike the season-ending injury list, however, the move can be reversed after the player has sat out those games, but the players on the short-term injury list still hit the team’s salary cap.
As long as Franco is on the list, the Fire do not need to use an international slot for him and the Fire presently have an open senior slot on their roster.
To move Franco off the list, the Fire will need to acquire another international slot by either moving an international player off the roster by loan or sale, having a player acquire a Green Card or by acquiring another slot via trade.
He will also occupy the Fire’s final senior roster slot, meaning that any further additions would need to be paired with a subtraction, either in the form of a loan, a trade within MLS or a permanent sale.
