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VERDE MANAGER

GAM & TAM TRANSACTIONS

Verified allocation money transactions from official Austin FC sources

2026 ALLOCATION POSITION (Calculated)

GAM POSITIONtradeable
Annual + Distributions+$3.28M
Nelson/Rosales Trades-$605K
Reserved for Cap-$440K
Free GAM$2.46M
TAM POSITIONuse-it-or-lose-it
Annual Allocation+$2.13M
Est. Cap Buydowns-$2.00M
Available TAM$125K
TOTAL FLEXIBILITY

$2.58M

After cap compliance

Tradeable GAM$2.46M
2027 owes: $600K

Source: Matthew Doyle analysis + Austin FC press releases + MLS CBA rules.

VERIFIED TRANSACTIONS

-$550KGAM
Dec 18, 2025
2027 GAM

GAM sent (2027) to Vancouver in Jayden Nelson trade

Vancouver Whitecaps FCJayden Nelson
View Source Article
-$50KGAM
Jan 9, 2025
2027 GAM

Conditional GAM (2027) to Inter Miami in Robert Taylor trade

Inter Miami CFRobert Taylor
View Source Article
-$2.00MTAMEST
Mar 2026

2026 TAM buydowns (ESTIMATE)

Salary Buydowns

TAM used first (use-it-or-lose-it), then GAM for remainder

-$440KGAMEST
Mar 2026

2026 GAM buydowns (ESTIMATE)

Salary Buydowns

GAM supplements TAM for cap compliance

-$250KGAM
Jan 9, 2025
2026 GAM

GAM sent (2026) to Inter Miami in Robert Taylor trade

Inter Miami CFRobert Taylor
View Source Article
-$700KGAM
Dec 18, 2025
2026 GAM

GAM sent (2026) to Vancouver in Jayden Nelson trade

Vancouver Whitecaps FCJayden Nelson

Also sent $550K in 2027 GAM and 2026 MLS SuperDraft First Round pick. Vancouver retains sell-on percentage.

View Source Article
+$235KGAM
Feb 2026

GAM received from Real Salt Lake in exchange for 2026 international roster slot (returns at secondary window)

Real Salt Lake

International slot returns to Austin FC when secondary transfer window opens July 13, 2026.

View Source Article
+$240KGAM
Feb 2026

GAM received from LA Galaxy in exchange for 2026 international roster slot

LA Galaxy
View Source Article

ALLOCATION BY YEAR

2027

GAM
+$3.92M-$600K= $3.32M
TAM
+$2.02M= $2.02M

2026

GAM
+$3.75M-$1.39M= $2.37M
TAM
+$2.13M-$2.00M= $125K

LEGEND

GAMGeneral Allocation Money
TAMTargeted Allocation Money
Verified from official source
ESTEstimated (not officially disclosed)
GAM/TAM received
GAM/TAM spent

KEY ASSUMPTIONS & RULES

TAM Used First for Buydowns

TAM is use-it-or-lose-it, so teams exhaust TAM before using GAM for cap compliance

GAM Rolls Over

Unused GAM carries to next season (as of 1/14/25). Save GAM for trades!

TAM Can't Be Traded

Only used for salary buydowns. Expires each year if not used.

GAM Increasing Per CBA

$1.53M (2021) → $3.28M (2026) → $3.92M (2027)

TAM Decreasing Per CBA

$2.80M (2021) → $2.13M (2026) → $2.03M (2027)

Budget Must Balance

Total budget charge must be ≤ salary budget. Use TAM/GAM to buy down the difference.

MLS ALLOCATION PROGRESSION (CBA 2021-2028)

YearGAMTAMTotalMax Cap Hit
2027 $3.92M$2.02M$5.95M$883K
2026 CURRENT$3.28M$2.13M$5.41M$803K
2025 $2.93M$2.23M$5.16M$744K
2024 $2.58M$2.40M$4.99M$684K
2023 $1.90M$2.72M$4.62M$651K
2022 $1.63M$2.80M$4.42M$613K
2021 $1.52M$2.80M$4.33M$613K

GAM increases each year while TAM decreases per CBA (Feb 2021 - Jan 2028). GAM no longer expires as of 1/14/25.