LAFC trade $50,000 general allocation money to New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls announced on Tuesday they have acquired $50,000 in general allocation money from Los Angeles Football Club.

The trade gives LAFC the MLS player rights to Brian Rodriguez, who they signed earlier this month before the close of the summer transfer window from Uruguayan club Peñarol. The Red Bulls held Rodriguez’s “discovery rights,” meaning they had first dibs to sign the player within MLS. While in years past teams could effectively camp out on player rights indefinitely, MLS modified the system a couple years ago, with a team holding a player’s discovery rights but unwilling to sign a player if another team wants him then getting $50,000 in allocation money to move on.

So, this is a good bit of business for the Red Bulls, who put Rodriguez’s name down on a list and got $50,000 for it, while the cost is not exorbitant on LAFC’s side, either, and since they’ve made Rodriguez a young Designated Player they think very highly of him, and another $50,000 is not over the top.

Yes, it’s a very MLS trade, but one that makes sense within the internal logic of the league in context.

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