Designated Player Rule

The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee for the player). The rule was adopted ahead of the 2007 MLS season, and it enables teams to compete for star players in the international soccer market. The rule is one of two ways which MLS teams may exceed their salary cap, the other being allocation money. As of December 2019, there have been 209 Designated Players in league history.

The rule is named after David Beckham. Beckham was the first player signed under this rule, signing a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy with a guaranteed annual salary of $6.5 million.

Club DP History

Notes
 The below list indicates players who have had their contract assigned as a Designated Player (DP) contract during their time in MLS. Players may have not always have had a DP contract, or have later had their contract negotiated below a DP level. Similarly, some players have been in MLS whose salary has been at a DP level, but the club has opted to bring their salary below the DP threshold using General Allocation Money or Targeted Allocation Money. Their listed "Years as DP" indicates what seasons they were active as a DP for that club only. Players in bold are currently signed to a DP contract by their club.
 Former MLS sides Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny were dissolved before the introduction of the Designated Player Rule.

Atlanta United FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Héctor Villalba  San Lorenzo 2017  Miguel Almirón  Lanús 2017–2018  Josef Martínez  Torino 2017–  Ezequiel Barco  Independiente 2018–  Pity Martínez  River Plate 2019–2020  Marcelino Moreno  Lanús 2020–

Austin FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Cecilio Domínguez  Independiente 2021–

Chicago Fire
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Cuauhtémoc Blanco  América 2007–2009  Freddie Ljungberg  Seattle Sounders FC 2010  Nery Castillo  Shakhtar Donetsk 2010  Álvaro Fernández  Seattle Sounders FC 2012–2013  Sherjill MacDonald  Germinal Beerschot 2012–2013  Federico Puppo  Danubio 2012–2014  Egidio Arévalo Ríos  Tijuana 2013  Juan Luis Anangonó  El Nacional 2013–2014  Gilberto  Toronto FC 2015–2016  David Accam  Helsingborg 2015–2017  Shaun Maloney  Wigan Athletic 2015  Kennedy Igboananike  AIK 2015–2016  Nemanja Nikolić  Legia Warsaw 2017–2019  Bastian Schweinsteiger  Manchester United 2017–2019  Aleksandar Katai  Alavés 2019  Robert Berić  Saint-Étienne 2020–  Ignacio Aliseda  Defensa y Justicia 2020–  Gastón Giménez  Vélez Sarsfield  2020–

Chivas USA (defunct)
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Juan Pablo Ángel  LA Galaxy 2011–2012  Oswaldo Minda  Deportivo Quito 2012–2014  Shalrie Joseph  New England Revolution 2012  Erick Torres  Guadalajara 2013–2014  Mauro Rosales  Seattle Sounders FC 2014

FC Cincinnati
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Fanendo Adi  Portland Timbers 2019  Allan Cruz  Herediano 2019–  Yuya Kubo  Gent 2020–  Jürgen Locadia  Brighton & Hove Albion 2020–

Colorado Rapids
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Gabriel Torres  Zamora 2013–2015  Juan Edgardo Ramírez  Argentinos Juniors 2015–2017  Kevin Doyle  Wolverhampton Wanderers 2015–2016  Shkëlzen Gashi  Basel 2016–2018  Tim Howard  Everton 2016–2019  Younes Namli  Krasnodar 2020–

Columbus Crew SC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Guillermo Barros Schelotto  Boca Juniors 2009–2010  Andrés Mendoza  Diyarbakırspor 2010–2011  Federico Higuaín  Colón 2012–2019  Kei Kamara  Middlesbrough 2016  Jonathan Mensah  Anzhi Makhachkala 2017  Pedro Santos  Braga 2017–  Milton Valenzuela  Newell's Old Boys 2018–2019  Gyasi Zardes  LA Galaxy 2019–  Luis Díaz  Herediano 2019  Lucas Zelarayán  UANL 2020–

FC Dallas
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Denílson  Al-Nassr 2007  David Ferreira  Atlético Paranaense 2009–2013  Fabián Castillo  Deportivo Cali 2011–2015  Julian de Guzman  Toronto FC 2012  Eric Hassli  Toronto FC 2013  Mauro Díaz  River Plate 2013–2016  Andrés Escobar  Dynamo Kyiv 2014  David Texeira  Groningen 2014–2015  Carlos Gruezo  VfB Stuttgart 2016–2018  Aníbal Chalá  El Nacional 2017  Cristian Colmán  Nacional Asunción 2017–2018  Santiago Mosquera  Millonarios 2018–  Bryan Acosta  Tenerife 2019–  Pablo Aránguiz  Unión Española 2019  Franco Jara  Pachuca 2020–

D.C. United
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Luciano Emílio  Olimpia 2008–2009  Marcelo Gallardo  Paris Saint-Germain 2008  Branko Bošković  Rapid Wien 2010–2012  Dwayne De Rosario  New York Red Bulls 2011–2013  Hamdi Salihi  Rapid Wien 2012  Rafael  Bahia 2013  Eddie Johnson  Seattle Sounders FC 2014–2015  Fabián Espíndola  New York Red Bulls 2015–2016  Paul Arriola  Tijuana 2017–  Wayne Rooney  Everton 2018–2019  Lucas Rodríguez  Estudiantes 2019  Edison Flores  Morelia 2020–

Houston Dynamo
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Luis Ángel Landín  Morelia 2009–2010  Boniek García  Olimpia 2012–2014  Giles Barnes  Doncaster Rovers 2012–2016  Alexander López  Olimpia 2013–2014  DaMarcus Beasley  Puebla 2014–2016  Mauro Manotas  Uniautónoma 2015–2016  Erick Torres  Guadalajara 2015–2017  Alberth Elis  Monterrey 2017–2020  Tomás Martínez  Braga 2017–

Inter Miami CF
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Matías Pellegrini  Estudiantes 2020–  Rodolfo Pizarro  Monterrey 2020–  Gonzalo Higuaín  Juventus 2020–

LA Galaxy
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  David Beckham  Real Madrid 2007–2012  Landon Donovan  Bayer Leverkusen 2010–2014  Juan Pablo Ángel  New York Red Bulls 2011  Robbie Keane  Tottenham Hotspur 2011–2016  Omar Gonzalez  University of Maryland 2013–2015  Steven Gerrard  Liverpool 2015–2016  Giovani dos Santos  Villarreal 2015–2018  Jelle Van Damme  Standard Liège 2016–2017  Romain Alessandrini  Marseille 2017–2019  Jonathan dos Santos  Villarreal 2017–  Zlatan Ibrahimović  Manchester United 2019  Cristian Pavón  Boca Juniors 2020–  Javier Hernández  Sevilla 2020–

Los Angeles FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Carlos Vela  Real Sociedad 2018–  Diego Rossi  Peñarol 2018–  André Horta  Benfica 2018–2019  Brian Rodríguez  Peñarol 2019–

Minnesota United FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Darwin Quintero  América 2018–2019  Ángelo Rodríguez  Deportes Tolima 2018–2019  Ján Greguš  Copenhagen    2019–  Thomás Chacón  Danubio    2019–  Emanuel Reynoso  Boca Juniors    2020–

Montreal Impact
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Marco Di Vaio  Bologna 2012–2014  Hernán Bernardello  Almería 2013–2014  Ignacio Piatti  San Lorenzo 2014–2019  Didier Drogba  Chelsea 2015–2016  Lucas Ontivero  Galatasaray 2016  Blerim Džemaili  Bologna 2017  Saphir Taïder  Bologna 2018–  Victor Wanyama  Tottenham Hotspur 2020–

Nashville SC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Hany Mukhtar  Brøndby IF 2020–  Randall Leal  Saprissa 2020–  Jhonder Cádiz  Benfica 2020–

New England Revolution
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Milton Caraglio  Rosario Central 2011  Shalrie Joseph  New York Freedom 2012  Jerry Bengtson  Motagua 2012–2014  Jermaine Jones  Beşiktaş 2014–2015  José Gonçalves  Sion 2016  Xavier Kouassi  Sion 2016–2017  Kei Kamara  Columbus Crew SC 2016–2017  Claude Dielna  Sheffield Wednesday 2018  Carles Gil  Deportivo La Coruña 2019–  Gustavo Bou  Tijuana 2019–  Adam Buksa  Pogoń Szczecin 2020–

New York City FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  David Villa  Atlético Madrid 2014–2018  Frank Lampard  Manchester City 2015–2016  Andrea Pirlo  Juventus 2015–2017  Maximiliano Moralez  León 2017–  Jesús Medina  Libertad 2018–  Alexandru Mitriță  Universitatea Craiova 2019–2020

New York Red Bulls
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Claudio Reyna  Manchester City 2007–2008  Juan Pablo Ángel  Aston Villa 2007–2010  Thierry Henry  Barcelona 2010–2014  Rafael Márquez  Barcelona 2010–2012  Frank Rost  Hamburger SV 2011  Tim Cahill  Everton 2012–2014  Bradley Wright-Phillips  Charlton Athletic 2015–2016, 2017–2019  Gonzalo Verón  San Lorenzo 2015–2017  Sacha Kljestan  Anderlecht 2016–2017  Omer Damari  RB Leipzig 2016  Alejandro Romero Gamarra  Huracán 2018–  Josh Sims  Southampton 2019–2020  Dru Yearwood  Brentford 2020–

Orlando City SC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Kaká  Milan 2014–2017  Carlos Rivas  Deportivo Cali 2015–2017  Bryan Róchez  Real España 2015–2016  Matías Pérez García  San Jose Earthquakes 2016–2017  Giles Barnes  Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2017  Yoshimar Yotún  Malmö FF 2017  Dom Dwyer  Sporting Kansas City 2018–  Sacha Kljestan  New York Red Bulls 2018  Josué Colmán  Cerro Porteño 2018–2019  Nani  Sporting CP 2019–  Mauricio Pereyra  Krasnodar 2019–

Philadelphia Union
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Freddy Adu  Benfica 2011–2012  Kléberson  Bahia 2013  Cristian Maidana  Rangers de Talca 2014–2015  Maurice Edu  Stoke City 2014–2017  Fernando Aristeguieta  Nantes 2015  Alejandro Bedoya  Nantes 2016–2019  Bořek Dočkal  Henan Jianye 2018  Marco Fabián  Eintracht Frankfurt 2019  Jamiro Monteiro  Metz 2020–

Portland Timbers
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Diego Chará  Deportes Tolima 2011–2013  Kris Boyd  Eskişehirspor 2012  Diego Valeri  Lanús 2013–2019  Fanendo Adi  Copenhagen 2014–2015, 2016–2018  Liam Ridgewell  West Bromwich Albion 2014–2016  Lucas Melano  Lanús 2015–2016, 2019  Sebastián Blanco  San Lorenzo 2017–  Brian Fernández  Necaxa 2019  Yimmi Chará  Atlético Mineiro 2020–  Jarosław Niezgoda  Legia Warsaw 2020–

Real Salt Lake
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Álvaro Saborío  Sion 2011–2015  Javier Morales  Vecindario 2011–2015  Kyle Beckerman  Colorado Rapids 2015  Joao Plata  Toronto FC 2015–2016  Sebastián Jaime  Unión Española 2014–2015  Juan Manuel Martínez  Boca Juniors 2015–2016  Yura Movsisyan  Spartak Moscow 2016–2017  Albert Rusnák  Groningen 2017–  Jefferson Savarino  Zulia 2017–2019  Sam Johnson  Vålerenga 2019–  Jeizon Ramírez  Deportivo Táchira 2020–

San Jose Earthquakes
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Geovanni  Hull City 2010  Chris Wondolowski  Houston Dynamo 2013–2019  Matías Pérez García  Tigre 2014–2016  Innocent Emeghara  Qarabağ 2015–2016  Simon Dawkins  Derby County 2016–2017  Valeri Qazaishvili  Vitesse 2017–  Magnus Eriksson  Djurgårdens I.F. 2018  Cristian Espinoza  Villarreal 2020–

Seattle Sounders FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Freddie Ljungberg  West Ham United 2009–2010  Álvaro Fernández  Nacional 2010–2012  Blaise Nkufo  Twente 2010  Mauro Rosales  River Plate 2011–2013  Christian Tiffert  1. FC Kaiserslautern 2012–2013  Shalrie Joseph  Chivas USA 2013  Obafemi Martins  Levante 2013–2015  Clint Dempsey  Tottenham Hotspur 2013–2018  Osvaldo Alonso  Charleston Battery 2014–2018  Nelson Valdez  Eintracht Frankfurt 2015–2016  Nicolás Lodeiro  Boca Juniors 2016–  Raúl Ruidíaz  Morelia 2018–  Víctor Rodríguez  Sporting Gijón 2019  Xavier Arreaga  Barcelona SC 2019  João Paulo  Botafogo 2020–

Sporting Kansas City
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Claudio López  Racing Club 2008  Omar Bravo  Guadalajara 2011  Jéferson  Vasco da Gama 2011  Claudio Bieler  Liga de Quito 2013–2014  Matt Besler  University of Notre Dame 2014–2016  Graham Zusi  University of Maryland 2014–2017  Roger Espinoza  Wigan Athletic 2015–2018  Diego Rubio  Valladolid 2016  Gerso Fernandes  Belenenses 2017  Yohan Croizet  KV Mechelen 2018–2019  Felipe Gutiérrez  Real Betis 2018–  Johnny Russell  Derby County 2019–  Alan Pulido  Guadalajara 2020–

Toronto FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Julian de Guzman  Deportivo La Coruña 2009–2012  Mista  Deportivo La Coruña 2010  Danny Koevermans  PSV Eindhoven 2011–2013  Torsten Frings  Werder Bremen 2011–2012  Eric Hassli  Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2012  Matías Laba  Argentinos Juniors 2013  Gilberto  Internacional 2014  Michael Bradley  Roma 2014–2019  Jermain Defoe  Tottenham Hotspur 2014–2015  Sebastian Giovinco  Juventus 2015–2018  Jozy Altidore  Sunderland 2015–  Alejandro Pozuelo  Genk 2019–  Pablo Piatti  Espanyol 2020–

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
PlayerPrevious clubYears as DP  Eric Hassli  Zürich 2011–2012  Mustapha Jarju  R.A.E.C. Mons 2011  Barry Robson  Middlesbrough 2012  Kenny Miller  Cardiff City 2012–2014  Matías Laba  Toronto FC 2014–2017  Mauro Rosales  Chivas USA 2014  Pedro Morales  Málaga 2014–2016  Octavio Rivero  O'Higgins 2015–2016  Fredy Montero  Tianjin TEDA Sporting CP 20172019  Brek Shea  Orlando City 2017–2018  Kendall Waston  Saprissa 2018  Hwang In-beom  Daejeon Citizen 2019–2020  Joaquín Ardaiz  Chiasso 2019  Ali Adnan  Udinese 2019–  Lucas Cavallini  Puebla 2020–

References

Other websites
Designated Players glossary entry  at MLSsoccer.com

Category:Major League Soccer