A matured MLS can foster US prodigy Cavan Sullivan where it failed Freddy Adu

TThe most talked-about debut of the year in American men’s soccer lasted just eight minutes on a midsummer Wednesday night in Chester, Pennsylvania. The rookie’s actions consisted largely of pressing the opposition, one loose touch and an easily saved shot from distance as the last action of the game. He also completed a number of neat passes, made intelligent runs and withstood a physical challenge from an MLS veteran who knocked him to the grass.

As debuts go, it’s a blip on the radar. As debuts go for 14-year-olds, it was extraordinary.

Cavan Sullivan’s cameo at the end of the Union’s 5-1 win over New England made him the youngest athlete in North American team sports history. It’s a milestone that’s reignited a couple of age-old conversations: about how young is too young for an athlete to be thrust into that position, and whether the world of American soccer is really equipped to handle a young player getting so much attention so early.

It speaks volumes about Sullivan’s professional prospects that his ability on the pitch is not even remotely in question. He’s a regular in the U.S. youth teams, playing for the U-15 team in 2023 when he was just 13 and winning the Golden Ball award at the Concacaf U-15 Championship later that year. Coaches were almost unanimous in their praise, with Union head coach Jim Curtin predicting he would become a household name. Big clubs were circling, with Manchester City among those showing interest in luring the youngster to continue his football education.

In May, he signed a unique deal that made him the youngest first-team professional in the history of the Union, a team known for its academy system. Sullivan now has the most lucrative homegrown contract in MLS history, and one that includes a clause that sees him move to Man City when he turns 18 (and possibly even sooner).

Shortly after signing, Sullivan began appearing for Philadelphia Union II, the club’s reserve team that plays in the third-tier MLS Next Pro. He racked up 10 appearances on the development circuit, notching an assist in his first appearance, another in a few games later, and then two goals in as many games just before his promotion to the first team this week.

And then, on Wednesday, the final eight minutes of a thrilling match, the one most celebrated and followed, took place.

“This is just the beginning,” Sullivan said afterward.[I’m] I’m very glad I did this, but it’s just the first box that’s been ticked. It’s where you end up, not where you start.”

Sullivan’s path is his own, and there’s no telling where it will lead. Yet it’s nearly impossible to think about it today without thinking of the man whose record he broke: Freddy Adu, who made his debut as a 14-year-old for DC United almost exactly 20 years ago.

The state of the league could hardly have been more different. MLS had 10 teams in 2004 and now has three times that number. The homegrown player rule, now regularly used by MLS teams to sign academy products, was still four years away from being implemented; the SuperDraft was still the league’s primary means of signing domestic players, so MLS had to engineer a trade that year of the No. 1 overall pick from Dallas to DC, Adu’s hometown club. When Adu joined DC, the first team was the league’s only option for playing time — the club’s academy and MLS’s first attempt at a reserves league were still a year away from becoming a reality. (Today, all MLS clubs have their own academies, and a relaunched reserves league called MLS Next Pro has become an increasingly popular stepping stone from the youth teams to the main event.)

When Adu debuted, the average MLS salary was just over $80,000 a year (about $134,000 in 2024 dollars). That average is now more than $500,000. Adu signed with D.C. when David Beckham was in his first year at Real Madrid, three years away from transforming MLS forever. Sullivan is literally in the same league as Lionel Messi, who is transforming it again.

Either way, today’s league is healthier for a young player to join. Expectations are healthily lower as a result, but it’s hard to imagine them going anywhere else. In 2004, Adu wasn’t just proof that MLS needed to provide a home for promising young players—he was also the league’s most visible star. He shot a commercial with Pelé and was signed to the league’s richest contract, with a guaranteed $500,000 (approximately $850,000 in 2024). More than 400 journalists packed RFK Stadium to watch his debut. He was profiled on 60 Minutes and featured in Jay Z. Nike signed him to a $1 million contract.

Sullivan has given his share of interviews and press conferences, but he is practically a recluse by comparison. The Union youngster’s main task at the moment is to continue to be really, really good at football. for his age – and to get better. The pressure on him to “save” MLS, let alone American soccer, is practically zero.

He’ll face physical challenges — not just in the playing time he gets, but every day, training alongside grown men, many of whom have been doing it professionally for a long time. The elder statesman of the Union roster, Alejandro Bedoya, made his professional debut six months before Sullivan was even born.

“It was pretty cool to see the change in size from U-17 to MLS Next Pro and now the big deal,” Sullivan told the media afterward, seeming fully aware of the trials ahead. “The game is getting harder and harder for me.”

He knows the mental challenges ahead—the kind that all kinds of people in all kinds of careers face in a reality where progress isn’t linear. And while he’s not touting Sierra Mist in commercial breaks like Adu, Sullivan will have to navigate that amid increased media attention around nearly every game. The league isn’t need Sullivan will excel, but it would be a nice boost as it aims to prove that it can be a place where young American players can develop and get opportunities, after players like Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic (and others) decided to move abroad in search of those opportunities.

It’s hard enough for adults to stay calm in these times, let alone someone who’s just a teenager. He said he was surprised by the anger fans created when he broke Adu’s record.

“Every time I touched the ball, they went crazy,” he said. “Of course I dreamed of this day and I had some pictures in my head of what it would look like, but to have them behind my back every time the ball was at my feet was crazy for me.”

Sullivan is about as well-placed as he can be, given those expectations. His brother Quinn, six years his senior, also plays for the Union and scored a fantastic goal just before Cavan’s induction on Wednesday. Their grandfather, Larry, coached Curtin at Villanova University. Their father, Brendan, is a former pro. Their mother played Division I for the University of Pennsylvania, along with Brendan. As far as support systems go, it’s about as solid as you can hope for.

Since Sullivan’s debut, it has almost become second nature to quote the classic sporting cliché attributed to legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby: “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.” This has been used almost exclusively as an explanation for why Sullivan plays, when instead it could be seen as a theory waiting to be tested.

Is Cavan Sullivan good enough? We don’t know for sure yet, and we probably won’t until he’s old enough to answer for himself. All we know is that the environment around him is better than that of his predecessors.