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On some teams in the USL, players have little or no health coverage. PHOTO: Luis Quintero, File, Unsplash<\/p>\n
If you have seen Rhode Island FC play in the soccer stadium in Pawtucket, the matches have all the trappings of a professional league.<\/p>\n
The reality, according to the USL Players Association (USLPA), is that more than 25% of players in the United Soccer League (USL) were not even offered any health insurance option by their clubs, and roughly 25% of players made less than $35,000 in compensation annually.<\/p>\n
Adding to the conflict is the collective bargaining agreement that has been in place since 2021, which expired on December 30, 2025.<\/p>\n
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE — SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST<\/a><\/p>\n Connor Tobin, the Executive Director of the USLPA, said in an interview with GoLocal, “I think for the time being, we continue to bargain in good faith, and it’s [our] intent to try to get to a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n The league and the USLPA have met 38 times without reaching a new agreement. It is a league of low salaries \u2014 one player on the Providence College men\u2019s basketball team earns more in NIL money than the entire payroll of the RIFC club, and it’s not close.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we’ll have ongoing conversations with membership, and we’ll see how things play out,\u201d said Tobin.<\/p>\n He did not rule out a strike.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Healthcare \u2014 \u201cThe Club is Not Going to Help You\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo we have some clubs that are honestly great employers and provide tremendous coverage to employers. We provide options, and that’s part of their contract. We have other clubs that don’t even offer any sort of access to health insurance through the employer,\u201d said Tobin.<\/p>\n For a player who might tear their ACL, the cost of surgery and rehabilitation averages about $30,000 to $50,000\u00a0\u2014\u00a0which could be more than the player’s total compensation.<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThat is some of what we’re trying to address in this collective bargaining agreement. But for the groups that don’t provide access, it is a pretty significant challenge. Not only in terms of finding care, but oftentimes you have to consider that a number of players in our league are players who are foreign.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo even their understanding of this is limited. I will say in conversations over the last few years, with a number of foreign players, that I’ve been surprised to hear that, \u2018Hey, you know, if you get a random car accident, you actually don’t have coverage and the club is not going to help you,\u2019\u201d said Tobin.<\/p>\n GoLocal had asked the Rhode Island franchise spokesperson, Mike Raia, in 2023 about salary and healthcare issues. When asked about health coverage, Raia said, “Never said full healthcare. Said they\u2019re offered employer-sponsored plans. But not my client, so reach out to them for the latest.”<\/p>\n GoLocal reached out to\u00a0Thomas Caughlin, Vice President, Marketing & Communications at RIFC for clarification.<\/p>\n Caughlin did not respond at the time of publication.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n View Larger + Connor Tobin, Executive Director USLPA, PHOTO: USLPA<\/p>\n Variation of Quality Between Clubs<\/p>\n The USL acts more like a group of independent businesses than a traditional league of franchises, says Tobin.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom our perspective, within the USL model, where they franchise out teams, just to franchise. And then say, \u2018Hey, you’re an independent business, do what you like.’ And for there to be very little standardization of the player experience, I think, undermines the product that gets put on the field because there’s such a variance between club A and club B,\u201d said Tobin.<\/p>\n \u201cThere needs to be a minimum level of professional experience as it relates to players when they come into this league. And I would say from the formation of the Players Association in 2018 to…getting to that first collective contract and then this successor agreement, our perspective has always been the same from a player’s end of how do we start to normalize what the player experience is no matter who you are in this league,” he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Livable Wage, Healthcare, Decent Hotels, and Fair Per Diem<\/p>\n Tobin said the issues are more than just the salaries and the healthcare.<\/p>\n \u201cI think healthcare is one component of this. There are a number of other standards in terms of how clubs operate that are also trying to address in this from things like, what is a player’s ability to speak about the hotels when we’re traveling, quality of hotels, what per diem actually looks like when we’re traveling,\u201d added Tobin.<\/p>\n According to the USLPA, approximately 85% of players did not have 12-month contracts and are treated as seasonal employees.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Pawtucket to Borrow $48.450 Million to Fund Soccer Stadium, Say Preliminary Bond Docs<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Cost of Soccer Stadium Soars by $13.7M \u2014 70% Increase in 2 Years, Now $137.7M<\/a><\/p>\n State of RI Has No Financial Protection If Pawtucket Soccer Team Folds<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Soccer Stadium Financing is Riddled With Questions, Says Former Financial Advisor<\/a><\/p>\n Top Executive Resigns at Minor League Soccer Team, Rhode Island FC<\/a><\/p>\n Average Cost for a Family of 4 to Attend a Pawtucket Soccer Game: $242, Says Report<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Financial Advisor on Pawtucket Soccer Stadium Deal Resigns Over \u201cConcerns\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Pawtucket Soccer Team Owner Claims He Has Raised More Capital, Refuses to Release Names of Investors<\/a><\/p>\n USL Soccer Team Led by Landon Donovan Folds; Financial Ties to Pawtucket Owner Johnson & Fortuitous<\/a><\/p>\n Brett Johnson Has Used Unbuilt Pawtucket Soccer Stadium as Collateral for Personal Loans<\/a><\/p>\n Brown Women\u2019s Soccer to Host Quinnipiac in First Round of NCAA Tournament<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Cost of Pawtucket Soccer Stadium Borrowing Explodes, Bonds Scheduled to Close Today<\/a><\/p>\n Bloomberg: \u201cTaxpayers Are Paying Dearly\u201d for Pawtucket Soccer Stadium<\/a><\/p>\n On Average, Each RI Family Will Pay $300 for Pawtucket Minor League Soccer Stadium<\/a><\/p>\n AUDIO RECORDING: No World Cup Practices at Pawtucket Minor League Soccer Stadium, Admits Owner<\/a><\/p>\n URI to Pay Pawtucket Soccer Stadium Hundreds of Thousands for Rental in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Bonds for Pawtucket Soccer Stadium Are Being Refinanced \u2014 Increase of Millions<\/a><\/p>\n New Deal Puts RI on the Hook for Pawtucket Minor League Soccer Stadium Bonds<\/a><\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Pawtucket Soccer Stadium Construction Fails to Deliver on Jobs<\/a><\/p>\n Legendary PC Soccer Coach William J. 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