<Li> Those in slots 25--30 must be a reserve minimum salary player ($53,000 base salary--will increase to $54,500 in 2018). Additionally, those who earn the lowest possible league salary must be 24 or younger during the 2017 calendar year . </Li> <Li> Those in slots 29--30 must also be homegrown players . </Li> <Li> In addition to the salary cap, each MLS team can also spend additional funds on player in the form of allocation money and homegrown player subsidy . </Li> <P> Since the 2012 season, the cap number for designated players has depended on the players' ages . Since the 2013 season, players 20 or younger have counted $150,000 against the cap and those age 21 to 23 have counted $200,000, with older players remaining at the standard cap number ($368,750 for 2013, $387,500 for 2014, $436,250 for 2015, $457,500 for 2016, $480,625 for 2017, and $504,375 for 2018). For the purpose of determining a cap number, the player's age is determined solely by his year of birth . </P>

When did hard salary caps start in the nfl and nhl