On Thursday, Major League Soccer released their updated roster profiles, giving an updated look at how each club chooses to build their rosters. Data for all 30 MLS clubs can be viewed here.
Roster path
MLS allows clubs to choose between two primary roster-building models or "paths"; the three Designated Player and three U22 Initiative player model, or the two Designated Player and four U22 Initiative model, which also nets the club an additional $2 million in General Allocation Money.
Nashville have chosen the three DP, three U22 model, largely out of necessity. Attackers Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge are on guaranteed DP contracts through 2026, while Walker Zimmerman's DP deal is up at the end of the 2025 season.
Nashville have two U22 Initiative players on the roster, both of whom project to be key pieces of the club. Patrick Yazbek joined the club for a reported $3.2 million last summer, while winger Ahmed Qasem made his debut last weekend after a reported $4.2 million transfer.
Targeted Allocation Money
Nashville only have three players in the TAM range, meaning they use Targeted Allocation Money to buy down their budget charge within the salary cap. Jack Maher, Gastón Brugman and Tyler Boyd. Last season, all three players made more than the 2025 senior maximum salary of $743,750, and will each likely see an increased salary this season (the MLS Players' Association will release their yearly salary report later this spring).
Notably, winter signing Eddi Tagseth is not a TAM player, meaning his Nashville salary is under the senior maximum salary. This makes an already stellar signing look even better.
Woobens Pacius and Maximus Ekk are both listed as "unavailable - on loan". Pacius was loaned out to Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship for the 2025 season, and while nothing has officially been announced with Ekk, it's expected that he'll spend much of the year with Huntsville City in MLS NEXT Pro as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL.
International roster slots
Nashville are using all five of their international roster slots. Jeisson Palacios, Patrick Yazbek, Sam Surridge, Eddi Tagseth and Ahmed Qasem each occupy an international roster slot. Woobens Pacius would require one, but his season-long loan frees up his slot.
Chris Applewhite is listed on Nashville supplementary roster. Both Adem Sipić and Isaiah Jones are listed in the club's off-roster homegrown slots, meaning that they can only play in six MLS matches before needing to be moved to the supplemental or senior roster. Applewhite, however, is on the club's full roster, giving him unlimited ability to play in MLS matches. It's a sign of how much the club rate him already.
GAM available
MLS is expected to release official listings of how much GAM each club has available. When the league released these numbers for the very first time in December, Nashville had just $2,512,683 available, before applying it to their roster.
While official numbers aren't out, SixOneFive Soccer estimates that Nashville have around $1.5 million available after applying it to their roster, assuming the club is using the maximum discretionary TAM allowed of $2,225,000. This number does not include the portion of Sean Davis's salary the club is still responsible for or Gastón Brugman's MLS Cup winner's bonus. It also only estimates salaries for new international signings like Bryan Acosta, Andy Najar, Jeisson Palacios and Eddi Tagseth.
Buying out Randall Leal's $1.1 million contract, trading three unused international roster slots for $550,000, and trading Shaq Moore and his nearly $1.5 million budget charge to FC Dallas freed up huge amounts of budget space for Nashville. Now that GAM no longer expires, they've gone from being in a pinch to being set up for success down the road.
SixOneFive Soccer subscribers can access our full roster build breakdown here:
Ben Wright
