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Report: MLS to change how clubs profit from transfers

Atlanta United FC v Minnesota United FC

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 12: Josef Martinez #7 of Atlanta United FC controls the ball against Vladim Demidov #6 of Minnesota United FC during the second half of the match on March 12, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Atlanta defeated Minnesota 6-1. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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When a league remains as young as Major League Soccer, at least relative to the rest of the world, sometimes corrective measures are pretty straight-forward.

Intrepid FourFourTwo reporter Paul Tenorio says soon MLS teams will finally be able to reap rewards for developing players through their academies, and get more of a profit when they develop and sell a player for profit.

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As it stands now, MLS owns player rights and makes good profit from player sales. As Tenorio puts it, there isn’t a lot of difference between a team who sells a player for $2 million or $20 million, so why sell at all?

On the Homegrown front, the league will also stop making money on players individual teams develop because, well, obviously!

Multiple league sources tell me MLS is set to approve a new rule this offseason that will allow teams to keep 100 percent of transfer fees for Homegrown Players. This incentivizes league owners to invest more in player development, and rewards the teams that do so successfully. Currently, MLS receives 25 percent of any Homegrown transfer.

Sometimes it’s hard for American sports fans to lend soccer leagues patience because the country was on the forefront for so many other massive sports here. But things change over time and MLS is barely two decades old.

Not to mention, when stories come out that have Atlanta United turning down $30 million in transfer fees for two players, it’s clear that something is quite backwards. And the way Carlos Bocanegra and Darren Eales have been running ATL, that money could bring in some massive talent.

Follow @NicholasMendola