In
professional sports
In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought l ...
within the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, a trade is a
sports league
A sports league is a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other and gain points in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on wee ...
transaction between
sports clubs
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
involving the exchange of
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets,
draft pick
A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...
s and
cash
In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.
In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-im ...
are other assets that may be supplemented to consummate a trade, either packaged alongside player rights to be transferred to another team, or as standalone assets in exchange for player rights and/or draft picks in return. Typically, trades are completed between two clubs, but there are instances where trades are consummated between three or more clubs.
Trades only involve players who are under contract with their current teams;
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
players, whose contracts have expired, cannot be traded by their former teams, and are free to join a different team.
In
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, a
player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
can be used to finalize the terms of a trade at a later date, but draft picks are not admissible as trading assets (
with one exception). In
Major League Soccer, besides current MLS players and draft picks, clubs may also trade MLS rights to non-MLS players,
allocation money
Allocation money, in Major League Soccer, represents an amount of money that teams may use to sign players and/or allocate to their salaries to get under the salary cap.
Reasons for obtaining
MLS teams receive general allocation money for these r ...
,
allocation rankings, and
international player slots.
No-trade clause
A no-trade clause is an amendment to a contract, usually relevant in North American professional sports, wherein a player may not be traded to another club without the player's consent. Sometimes this clause is implemented by the club itself, but the vast majority are requested by the athlete and their
sports agent to avoid being sent to a non-contending club and/or a club in an unattractive city. In many cases, these no-trade clauses are limited, where a club may be limited to trading the athlete only at certain times, or only to a certain team or geographical area.
No-trade clauses are found in most sports in North America, including
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
,
Major League Soccer, and some minor leagues around the country. Many
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an leagues, mostly professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, also implement these contract amendments.
Each league usually has its own rules regarding these clauses; for example in the NBA, no-trade clauses can only be negotiated into contracts when a player has at least four years of service for the team he is signing the contract with and at least eight years total in the NBA. Other leagues have other varying rules, for example in MLB the "Ten and Five" rule gives most players limited control on their tradability once they meet the ten and five criteria, which means the player has played in the league ten seasons and with the current team for at least five.
In the NHL, these rights have been blamed for the lack of trades that have been pulled off in recent years, with critics citing examples where "done deals" were blown up by "selfish players."
Despite having a no-trade clause in the contract, players have often demanded to be traded and then use the no-trade clause to select a preferable destination team, even though this would not give the maximum value to the team he is departing. To avoid such a potential situation an astute general manager would first demand that the player waive the no-trade clause before considering a trade, though this would reduce the player's leverage.
Waiver of no-trade clause
Often the no-trade clause is waived by the players themselves, usually in order to play for a contending team.
MLB
In one dramatic case in 2001,
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...
first baseman
Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...
mulled over waiving his rights for nearly a month before ultimately accepting a deal which sent him to the
Chicago Cubs.
In 2017,
Miami Marlins outfielder
Giancarlo Stanton
Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton (born November 8, 1989), formerly known as Mike Stanton, is an American professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2010 a ...
rejected trades both to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
, saying that he would refuse to waive his no-trade clause for any teams other than the contenders
Chicago Cubs, hometown
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, up-and-coming
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, and reigning
2017 World Series champion
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
. Stanton was eventually traded to the Yankees for
Starlin Castro,
Jorge Guzman
Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".
The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...
, and
José Devers
José Rodolfo Devers (born December 7, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Miami Marlins organization.
Career New York Yankees
Devers was signed as an international free agent by the New York Yankees in 2016. He made his ...
.
NBA
In 2007,
Kobe Bryant was willing to waive his no-trade clause with the
Los Angeles Lakers in order to be dealt to either the
Phoenix Suns or the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
, but in this case, Bryant's own pickiness as far as where he would like to play limited the Lakers' ability to move him, and eventually no trade was made at all.
NHL
Darryl Sittler
Darryl Glen Sittler (born September 18, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League from 1970 until 1985 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings. He wa ...
's no-trade clause protected him from being moved, when
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
owner
Harold Ballard
Harold Edwin Ballard (born Edwin Harold Ballard, July 30, 1903 – April 11, 1990) was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as their home arena, Maple ...
and manager
Punch Imlach
George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and t ...
wanted to get rid of or reduce Sittler's influence on the team (Imlach instead traded
Lanny McDonald
Lanny King McDonald (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year c ...
to spite Sittler); a few years later Sittler waived the clause when relations between him and Ballard deteriorated.
Dany Heatley
Daniel "Dany" James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the National H ...
demanded a trade from the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
at the end of the
2008–09 season; a deal was in place to send Heatley to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
on June 30, but Heatley refused to waive his no-trade clause (the Oilers had missed the playoffs for three straight seasons), so he was traded to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
instead, with the Senators receiving a much lesser package than the one offered by the Oilers.
Rick Nash
Richard McLaren Nash (born June 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who serves as the director of player development for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). After being selected first overal ...
demanded a trade from the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
during the 2011–12 NHL season, but the deal could not be completed due to general manager
Scott Howson
Donald Scott Howson (born April 9, 1960) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player. He was formerly the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 18 games in the NHL with the New York I ...
's high asking price from the teams to whom Nash would have permitted a trade. The holdout lasted into the summer of 2012, when he was traded to the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
for
Brandon Dubinsky
Brandon Grae Dubinsky (born April 29, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He previously played for the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dubinsky was drafted 60th overall in the ...
,
Tim Erixon
Tim Carl Erixon (born 24 February 1991) is an American-born Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with Timrå IK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Erixon was selected in the first round—23rd overall—by the Calg ...
,
Artem Anisimov
Artem Alekseevich Anisimov (russian: Артём Алексеевич Анисимов; born 24 May 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL). Anisim ...
, and the Rangers' first-round pick in the
2013 draft.
In an unusual case,
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...
refused to waive his no-trade clause during the latter part of the 2007–08 season, even though his Maple Leafs were on track to miss the playoffs, and his contract was set to expire after the season concluded. Leafs management requested that Sundin waive his no-trade clause in order for the team to rebuild by acquiring potential young talent and/or draft picks, and Sundin was coveted by several teams looking to bolster their roster for the playoffs before the trade deadline. Sundin said he did not believe in being a "rental player" and that if he won the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
, he wanted to do it over the course of a whole season.
Trade deadline
A trade deadline (or trading deadline) is a rule regulating the trading of professional players' contracts between clubs. In Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, players acquired through trade after the trade deadline are ineligible for postseason play in that season, unless the respective league allows them to replace an injured player on the roster. In the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer, post-deadline trades are not allowed. This term is used mainly in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. In the approach to the deadline, there is heightened activity and interest in trades.
The purpose of a trade deadline is to keep competitive balance towards the end of the season.
MLB
The current
Major League Baseball (MLB) trade deadline of July 31 has been in effect since the 1986 Basic Agreement which resulted from the resolution of the
1985 MLB strike. Commissioner
Rob Manfred
Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Manfred succeeded Bud Selig a ...
moved it to August 1 for the 2016 season only, as July 31, 2016 was a Sunday. After the All-Star break, teams will determine whether or not they are in position to contend for the postseason. Because of
free agency
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
and the lack of a
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
in baseball, players in the final year of their
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
are often put on the "trading block" by many of the non-playoff contending teams. Smaller market teams that feel they cannot pay veteran players' high salaries will often attempt to trade them to a postseason contender, in exchange for some minor league prospects or other players who might be able to help them in the future.
Until the 2019 season, MLB had a separate waiver trade deadline of August 31. Between August 1 and August 31, players were required to clear waivers before they could be traded. The waivers were revocable, meaning that a team could revoke the claim of another team on their player. The August 31 waiver trade deadline was eliminated effective with the 2019 season.
The trade deadline was instituted by MLB in response to various attempts by two
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based ballclubs, the
Giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
and
Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, to use their financial advantages to tilt their respective leagues' competitive balance in their favor from
1917 through
1922. In the Yankees' case, most of its dealings were with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. The
American League (AL) established MLB's first-ever such rule in
1920 as an indirect result of the Red Sox's sale of
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
to the Yankees. It prohibited the trading and selling of ballplayers between August 1 and the conclusion of the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. A uniform rule serving both major leagues, which was adopted prior to the
1923 season, set the deadline at June 15. The date, chosen by MLB Commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his ...
based on a suggestion from
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
owner
Barney Dreyfuss
Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Dr ...
, remained in effect through the
1985 season.
NBA
The
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
's deadline falls on the 16th Thursday of the season (usually in mid-February) at 3pm
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
.
[Roster Regulations](_blank)
, NBA.com The deadline for the
2011–12 season was on March 15, 2012, due to the
2011-12 NBA lockout. In the NBA, post-deadline trades are forbidden, although teams are allowed to sign free agents and call up players from the G League until the end of the regular season.
NFL
The
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's deadline is the Tuesday following the eighth week (formerly sixth) of the regular season.
Usually, there is fairly little activity on this day and almost no star players are ever dealt to other clubs on the sixth week of the season. The early deadline, along with players having to learn a whole new system on the fly, along with the salary cap often makes it difficult to make blockbuster trades on this day, unlike most other sports. Post-deadline trades are forbidden in the NFL, unless the trade was initially proposed prior to the deadline.
NHL
The
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's trade deadline is calculated as the 40th day before the final day of the regular season, ensuring that it typically falls during the last week of February or the first week of March. Much like Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, the NHL's trade deadline is often a period of increased player movement; teams that are either making a final push to secure a playoff spot or hoping to go deep into the playoffs attempt to trade to acquire key veterans or proven scorers in order to solidify their rosters. Conversely, teams that are rebuilding with younger players may be willing to trade away their more expensive players in order to "dump" (reduce) salary and get draft picks/prospects in return. Players on playoff-contending teams who are injured and not expected to return for the current season may be offered to teams that are rebuilding, since they will be of no value to a team's playoff prospects in the current season but may be of value to another team for (a) future season(s). Also, players who are about to become unrestricted
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
s and have indicated that they do not intend to return to their current teams may be traded away so that those teams will get something in return, instead of seeing such players sign with another team while their former teams receive nothing.
The NHL trade deadline also generates a great deal of talk among hockey fans and analysts, with much speculation and discussion about which players will get traded and where they will go. In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the NHL trade deadline is treated with such significance that the two major sports networks
TSN and
Sportsnet devote much of the day to speculation and coverage of trades.
Association football
Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
clubs have two
transfer
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
windows per season. In most countries, one falls during the middle of the season and the other runs during the period between seasons, generally called the "close season" in Europe and "off-season" in North America. For those countries with seasons starting in August/September such as most European countries, the midseason transfer window usually falls in January, and the other one opens from June to September. In countries with seasons that operate entirely within a calendar year, like many leagues in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
or
Northern Europe, as well as North America's
Major League Soccer, the midseason transfer window opens in July/August, while the other starts from March to April. The difference between a transfer window and a trade deadline is that players cannot be bought or sold outside these transfer window periods. The notion of transfer windows was initially introduced in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and subsequently adopted by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
. Like North America's trade deadline, there is greatly increased activity and interest as the close of a transfer window draws near.
MLS
In Major League Soccer, trades between MLS teams that involve players and player transfers from outside MLS must occur during either the primary transfer window (typically February - May) or secondary transfer window (July - August).
The MLS roster freeze date falls on September 15, at which time teams must submit their final roster that cannot be changed through the day after the MLS Cup.
[ ]
See also
*
Major League Baseball transactions#Trades
*
Player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
*
Sign-and-trade deal
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), a sign-and-trade deal is a type of transaction allowed by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where one franchise/team signs an unrestricted free agent or restricted free agent player to a new co ...
*
Transfer (association football)
In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can on ...
*
List of largest National Football League trades
This is a list of the largest National Football League player trades in league history, in terms of the number of players and Draft picks exchanged. In the case of draft picks, names in parentheses indicate the player eventually selected with tha ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trade (Sports)
Terminology used in multiple sports
Sports terminology
Sports labor relations