The previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the A-League Men and A-League Women players and the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) expired on June 30.
And despite the agreement lapsing last month, the players' union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), and the APL were confident a deal would get over the line in the early part of July after beginning talks late last year.
But the latest proposal was unanimously rejected by players at a meeting last week, plunging the leagues' outlook into uncertainty.
"The result of the vote was clear – an overwhelming majority of players elected to reject the APL proposal, believing that it did not advance the players' and the game's collective interests," PFA chief executive Beau Busch wrote in a memo sent to players, and seen by AAP.
"The A-Leagues delegates have now formally ratified this position. As such, we have informed APL that their proposal has been rejected and that the CBA negotiation process has been exhausted."
The outcome means Australia's top-flight football leagues are the only major competitions in the country without a CBA.
Players were prohibited from taking industrial action under the CBA, but with no agreement currently in place the competition is potentially entering uncharted territory.
Relations between the PFA and the APL have been frosty for the best part of a year since APL chair Stephen Conroy signalled his intention to introduce a hard salary cap of $3million.
The APL has since shifted its position under new chief executive Steve Rosich and offered players a voice at the table to shape the leagues' direction.
But that wasn't enough to swing players to vote for last week's proposal.
The offer, that was rejected by PFA members, included a $100,000 increase to the $2.6million ALM salary cap and the limiting of marquee contracts - the value of which sits outside the cap - to just one per club.
The APL also wanted to raise the $640,000 salary cap to $775,000 for the ALW, while boosting the minimum wage of female players by 27 per cent to close to $35,000 per season.
Rosich said the APL would consider its next steps over the coming weeks, with fixtures for the 2026-27 season expected to be released later this week.
"We have been negotiating in good faith with the PFA for the past eight months to agree a new CBA to ensure the sustainable growth of the A-Leagues for our clubs and players, and are looking to continue to do so," Rosich said in a statement.
"We have had collaborative discussions through to Wednesday, and we have sought an explanation on the PFA's position, before further engagement."
The PFA declined to comment.
