The Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer signed 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan to a first-team contract on Thursday. The youngster could become the youngest pro athlete in North American team sports history.
Major League Soccer (MLS) has never shied away from dipping into youth soccer and having high school-aged prospects take the field. The league has seen six players not even of legal driving age make their debuts during the 30-year history of the MLS, and a seventh could be on the way, except this one could end up being the youngest player in the history of Major League Soccer.
The Homegrown Player Rule is a program that allows teams to sign locals from their own developmental academies to contracts with the main club. In this case, Sullivan, who was born in Philadelphia, joined the Union’s youth academy as a 10-year-old in 2020. The Homegrown Player Rule essentially allows the Union to promote from within, akin to an MLB team calling up a player from one of its minor league affiliates.
With the deal, Sullivan becomes the fifth-youngest player to sign a first-team contract in MLS history. If he appears in a game for the Union before July 29, then he would supplant Freddy Adu as the youngest player in league history. Adu, who was once billed as “the next Pele,” also signed with MLS at 14 in 2004 when he became the youngest American to ever sign a pro contract in any of the five major North American sports leagues.
Adu made his debut at 14 years, 306 days, so if Sullivan appears in any of the Union’s 16 games before July 29, he would then become the youngest MLS player ever, and thus, the youngest athlete to ever appear in any NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL or MLS game.
Even at 14 years old, Sullivan had a wise-beyond-his-years response when asked what it would mean to potentially break Adu’s record.
Union coach Jim Curtin didn’t hold back in predicting that the youngster would make history, “If he’s healthy, he’ll do it.”
Sullivan’s MLS contract does come with a bit of a caveat, so Philadelphia fans will get a couple of years to see how it all plays out. The deal does come with an agreement that Sullivan will transfer to Manchester City of the English Premier League after he turns 18 in September 2027.
Sullivan acknowledged that Man City being part of the deal played a part in him signing the contract with the Union. Man City is the current giant of club soccer as they are the reigning three-time EPL champions, won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, and became the second English team to complete the treble.
“I also think the collaboration between the Union and the City Group was—I think that did it for me,” Sullivan said. “I always watch Man City. They’re like every kid’s dream team. For [Philadelphia and Man City] to come together and agree on something–I sat with my family and my agents and we decided that it was the best plan.”
Sullivan has been featured prominently both with the Union’s academy teams as well as the United States Youth National Teams. He’s appeared in games for the Union’s U15 squad, their U17 team and the Union II, which is the main club’s top reserve team. With the U.S. Youth team, Sullivan helped lead the Americans to a victory in the U15 Championship, marking the first time the team ever won the tournament. Despite being the youngest player on the team, Sullivan won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player as he scored four goals.
It seems cliché to say, but the youngster, literally, has soccer running through his veins. His father, Brendan, played six years in what’s now known as the USL Championship, which is the top U.S. soccer league under MLS. Cavan’s mother, Heike, played college soccer at Penn, while his three brothers are also currently in the U.S. soccer system. The eldest Sullivan brother, Quinn, will be Cavan’s new teammate as Quinn has been with the Union since 2021 and currently leads the team in both minutes played and assists.
There is the possibility that Cavan Sullivan could held over to Europe before turning 18 if his career progresses rapidly, as he could transfer over as soon as 16 years old. There’s also the national team affiliation that will come into question in the future. While Sullivan has already played for the U.S. Youth National Team, he does have eligibility to play for Germany and Bangladesh as well, due to his mother’s heritage. While senior team members can only play for one nation, players who compete for a nation at the youth level aren’t committed to that nation at the senior level.
For now, he’ll seemingly just get to enjoy being a professional athlete while living at his parents’ house in Philadelphia.
