diff --git a/mk/spdk.common.mk b/mk/spdk.common.mk
index 2411729ef..ac0e71358 100644
--- a/mk/spdk.common.mk
+++ b/mk/spdk.common.mk
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ LDFLAGS += -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now
 LDFLAGS += -Wl,-z,noexecstack
 
 ifeq ($(OS),FreeBSD)
-LIBS += -L/usr/local/lib
+SYS_LIBS += -L/usr/local/lib
 COMMON_CFLAGS += -I/usr/local/include
 endif