CARSON, Calif. -- Sean Davis’ time as an LA Galaxy player is over before his first MLS match for Los Angeles.
The six-time champions announced today that they placed the midfielder on waivers two months to the day after he joined the team. In waiving Davis, the Galaxy used one of the club's two buyouts of a guaranteed contract this season.
Although Davis traveled with the Galaxy to their preseason camp at the Coachella Valley Invitational, he was scarcely used. The 31-year-old saw no time with the “starting” group, even though his experience should have made him Edwin Cerrillo’s deputy in the defensive midfield position.
The ex-Nashville SC player only logged 64 minutes in four CVI matches, with the bulk of those coming when he played the entire second half in the Galaxy’s first match against Austin.
From there, he appeared just once - a 19-minute cameo in LA’s 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC.
It is a harsh turn of events for Davis, who becomes a free agent amid the Galaxy’s struggles all offseason to stay salary cap compliant.
Thank you, Sean 🙏
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) February 20, 2025
Midfielder Sean Davis has been placed on waivers.
📰: https://t.co/3b3NRMuijC pic.twitter.com/O7p2Kn3NAZ
Sean Davis, Another Galaxy Salary Cap Casualty
The salary cap issues that caused the Galaxy to waive Davis, are the exact same reasons that brought him to LA.
Just 12 days after former Galaxy Midfielder Gaston Brugman put in an MLS Cup MVP performance to help the Galaxy capture another title, the team announced that they’d acquired Davis in exchange for Brugman.
“To maintain a championship-caliber roster in Major League Soccer, teams are often forced to make difficult contractual decisions, and today’s trade is evidence of that,” LA Galaxy General Manager Will Kuntz said of the deal that brought Davis to LA.
Davis, like Brugman before him, now becomes a casualty of those “difficult contractual decisions.”
As part of the Brugman/Davis deal, Nashville SC agreed to pay a portion of Davis’ 2025 salary budget charge. Nashville was also due to receive a conditional $100,000 in 2026 general allocation money (GAM) had Davis met certain performance metrics.
With the midfielder making at least a base salary of $910K and $1.024M in guaranteed compensation in 2024 according to the MLS Players Association, the Galaxy wipes a sizable chunk of salary off their payroll by placing Davis on waivers. Although Nashville is responsible for some of Davis’s salary, the Galaxy should be shedding enough cap space to stay compliant.
Waiving Davis should also give the Galaxy flexibility to further strengthen the team for another championship run. Whether that's in this transfer window or next, remains to be seen.
