MLS and the MLS Players’ Association were at an impasse. A difficult CBA negotiation appeared to be falling apart. Roughly 72 hours remained before the 2015 season was scheduled to start, and it looked like the league was headed for its first-ever work stoppage.



The league was dug in on an offer. According to multiple sources, including one former player who was at the table, the players weren’t satisfied with the proposed terms. After a couple of years of steeling themselves for a potential stoppage, they voted by a wide margin to strike.



The next day, just before they were set to confirm their strike vote, one of the federal mediators who had been hired by both parties a few weeks earlier to help facilitate negotiations spoke to the group of players present for talks in Washington, D.C. Whatever was said changed things significantly.



“We were about to make the final vote, the day after we had voted to strike, and I was...