It’s in the title, folks. Every week during the MLS season, Backheeled is here to dive into the biggest Winners and Losers from around the league. Let’s get right to it!
Winner: Cashfers
I would describe my wife as a casual soccer fan.
She knows that Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time (and after he scored four on Saturday, she now knows that CF Montreal lay claim to the title of MLS’s most embarrassing team…more on that later). She knows a handful of U.S. men’s national team players, European clubs, and MLS teams. But most of what she knows is down to the fact that she lives with me, the world’s biggest soccer nerd. Outside of the World Cup, if I’m not home, soccer is exceedingly unlikely to pop up on the TV.
On Saturday, though, something odd happened. I’d just turned on the weekend’s MLS opener — the Seattle Sounders vs. the Chicago Fire. 12 minutes in, Dejan Joveljic scored. Nothing odd about any of that.
No, the odd bit was that as the broadcast unfolded the story of Joveljic’s move to Seattle for a $6 million cash transfer from Sporting Kansas City, my wife was hooked. After that goal, she started watching with more intent. Then Joveljic scored again to earn a debut brace, though the Fire would equalize at 2-2 thanks to another dangerous striker.
Settling in pretty, pretty well 🙂↕️
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 29, 2026
Dejan Joveljić already has two goals to his name after just one game for @SoundersFC 👀 pic.twitter.com/JMq1KmTQwF
It’s amazing what a genuine storyline can do for MLS, isn’t it? Since their inception, cashfers have provided a level of intrigue that MLS rarely captures outside of the postseason and signing superstars. But Joveljic’s debut didn’t come in the playoffs, nor is the Serbian striker a superstar coming from abroad. It came on a run-of-the-mill Saturday in August, the exact sort of day that has seen MLS fail to break out of relative irrelevance since its inception.
But stories like Joveljic being deemed upgradeable by one MLS team and essential by another (and becoming the first player to be cashfered twice in league history along the way) draw attention. Not the masses, certainly. But more than before, as evidenced by my living room this weekend. Stories like Kansas City’s desire to smash $25 million on New York City’s Nico Fernandez Mercau provide narrative fodder. The same goes for St. Louis City’s interest in the Colorado Rapids’ Rafael Navarro (who started for the Rapids in their 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday, with a looming move and $1.2 million on the line).
