Toronto FC has signed forward Ayo Akinola to a new contract that runs through 2024 with an option for 2025.
Akinola’s deal is part of the Major League Soccer U-22 Initiative which allows clubs to sign up to three young players, age 22 and younger, to “lucrative contracts at a reduced budget charge.”
Players can occupy the U22 Initiative slot through the season they turn 25. Akinola, who turned 22 on Thursday, is eligible as a homegrown player on his second contract.
Under league rules, the maximum a homegrown player can earn under the U22 program is US$200,000 above the maximum salary budget charge (which was $612,500 last year).