2007 MLS FCTP Rookie of the Week...Week 8...

Am I the only one who is shocked we are 1/4th of the way through the MLS season? Heck, FCD is already 1/3rd through its season. Wow, how time flies.

Let's get down to business. This week we saw 188 total MLS players take the field with 9% (17) being rookies. 47% of the rookies started their games while 29% played the entire match.

Complete Game:
Jeff Curtin
Ty Harden
Maurice Edu
Aaron Hohlbein
Michael Harrington

Started:
Guy-Roland Kpene
Kurt Morsink
Dane Richards

Substitute:
Jerson Monteiro
Bakary Soumare
John Cunliffe
Robbie Findley
Brad Evans
Corey Ashe
Wells Thompson
Adam Cristman
Sinisa Ubiparipovic

Players in bold saw the professional field for the first time. As you know, I heavily favor the guys who play the entire game for this award. Something has to be said for the guy who grinds out 90 minutes. This time around no one scored a goal or got an assist...so we're really looking at intangibles. I'm going back to Michael Harrington for this one since he was involved in the most exciting match of the weekend and has started all eight of his team's matches so far this season. Harrington is really solidifying his place on that left say. Dare I say he is the 2007 version of Jonathan Bornstein? Who by the way has been invisible...maybe he misses coach Bradley on the Chivas USA bench. But that is beside the point. Congrats Mr. Harrington...there is your second rookie of the week award.

It will be interesting to see if more rookies feature in coming weeks as many MLS players go train and play with their national teams. Keep your eyes peeled.

A Busy Summer Coming Up for American Soccer...

In addition to a full slate of MLS, USL and PDL games this summer, the international calendar is chock full as well. Most American soccer fans drool over the World Cup, but this off year will provide four separate international Men's tournaments. The senior team is playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the CONMEBOL Copa America. The U-20 team has a World Cup in Canada while the U-17 team will be in Korea. Soccer fans delight, we've got games to watch.

In the past the U-20 team has been dominated by college players from American colleges but that is changing. As professionals start to enter the ranks, the Americans will have to be taken more seriously. There is currently a camp where head coach Rongen is evaluating talent and names on the roster vary from high school kids in the Bradenton residency program, to college kids to MLS players to European professionals. I think when the dust settles the team going to Canada will be made up mostly of professional players, putting the Americans on equal footing with the rest of the world. In fact, Freddy Adu thinks the team is ready to shine in the 2007 tournament. The Americans kick off a difficult group D on June 30th against South Korea, then on July 3rd face Poland and finish group play against Brazil on July 6th. Hopefully Adu can lead the team past some tough competition into the knock out rounds.

The U-17 team will be stocked with a lot more talent we'll see in college some day soon. Most if not all of the players going to Korea with coach Hackworth will be from the Bradenton residency program. This is a good thing for the American's chances because the players will all know each other and there won't be a game wasted as players become familiar with each other's styles. An easier group draw should benefit the Americans. The US U-17's were drawn into Group E along with Belgium, Tajikistan and Tunisia. The US will start against Tajikistan on August 20th, followed by matches against Tunisia on the 23rd and Belgium on the 26th. This will be the place to see some American stars of tomorrow.

The full Men's national team will no doubt rely on all professionals this summer so we won't focus on them. The most interesting thing in my opinion is that MLS Rookie and FCTP Rookie of the Week winner, Michael Harrington, is being named as a possible member of either the Copa America or Gold Cup side. Coach Bradley will certainly pull from a large group since there are two major tournaments so close in time, but has Harrington really proven himself ready for a full national team cap? We'll see I suppose. The Gold Cup roster is expected today as that tournament kicks off in Miami on June 6th.

Enjoy a full summer of games soccer fans!

2007 FCTP MLS Rookie of the Week...Week 7...

Another week of MLS action in the books and this week is a tough one for rookie of the week voting. I don't know if anyone really stood out enough to win the award hands down. So, as you'll see in a minute, our winner is being selected not only for this week's performance but for other recent performances.

So which rookies saw the field this week?

Played entire game:
Andrew Boyens (2 games)
Maurice Edu (2 games)
Michael Harrington
Ty Harden

Started, didn't finish:
Dane Richards
Brad Evans
Adam Cristman

Substitutes:
Robbie Findley
Guy-Roland Kpene
Sal Caccavale
Sinisa Ubiparipovic
Corey Ashe
Wells Thompson
Nico Colaluca
Aaron Hohlbein
Kurt Morsink

First off, we saw 221 total MLS players take the field this week with 8% (18) being rookies. That is our highest number of rookies yet this season. 50% of the rookies started and 33% played the entire game. Edu, Boyens, Harden and Harrington have become automatic starters for their respective teams. As the season wears on we're no doubt going to see some more names added to the list of early rookie favorites.

This week we're going to recognize the un-heralded defenders. Two years ago Michael Parkhurst had a break out rookie season. Last year it was Dasan Robinson. This year it looks like a two horse race between Andrew Boyens and Ty Harden. This week's ROTW goes to one of those defenders for making the leap to professional soccer and staking a claim in the back line. I'm going to give the week 7 award to Boyens. He played two matches this week, one where his defense shut out the defending champions, Houston. Additionally, he doesn't have Joe Cannon behind him to clean up his mistakes.

Harden deserves honorable mention. He stepped into an established team and won the starting spot. We knew going into the season LA was going to have a questionable defense after trading Ugo Ihemelu but it seems that Harden has been able to help keep a steady presence in front of a great keeper, Joe Cannon.

All of you calling for a ROTW from the defensive side of things now have it.

Welcome to the club Corey Ashe and Sal Caccavale. They both played in their first matches this week. Interestingly, Sal a goal in his first game in which he started playing in the 88th minute. He scored the 4th Red Bulls goal in minute number 92. Way to go Sal!

2007 FCTP MLS Rookie of the Week...Week 6...

Another week down and FCTP is here with another Rookie of the Week selection. This week MLS saw 161 players take the field, two more then last week. 6% of those players were rookies. 80% of the rookies this week started their matches while 60% completed the entire game. Those are the highest percentages yet this season.

Complete Game:
Andrew Boyens
Maurice Edu
Michael Harrington
Aaron Hohlbein
Ty Harden
Dane Richards

Started:
Adam Cristman
Robbie Findley

Subs:
Kurt Morsink
Sinisa Ubiparipovic

This week's ROTW will be a surprise to few who watched the games this weekend. While Harrington did score another goal, Cristman got his first goal to add to his three assists and Richards and Findley ran wild all over the field, north of the border gave MLS fans the most rookie excitement. Andrew Boyens helped marshal a defense that gave up one goal and Maurice Edu scored a beauty that looked as if it was scored in the Premier League or La Liga...not MLS. Toronto FC got their first victory and helped confirm that Real Salt Lake is the worst team in the league as the only remaining winless club.

For his cracker of a goal and overall solid play in midfield, Maurice Edu is our week 6 ROTW. If you didn't see the match get to mlsnet.com for some highlights of his goal. Edu showed why he was the #1 SuperDraft pick in 2007. His career in MLS is off to a great start.

MLS College Combine 2005 - Midfielders

Last week we looked at the forwards that went to the 2005 MLS college combine. Below is a summary of the midfielders that attended the same combine. Most interesting is Luke Kreamalmayer who won the first Tom Fitzgerald award. It was to be given to the best player at the combine. The last 2 years Major League Soccer hasn't seemed to mention it in their press releases.

2005 Adidas MLS Player Combine - Midfielders

Hans Bevers (New Mexico)
Bevers was not chosen in the MLS draft and does not appear to have played professionally since college.

Mubarike "Mamba" Chisoni (Coastal Carolina)
4th Round Superdraft (46th overall) by Los Angeles Galaxy
Chisoni was born in Zimbabwe. He played in 11 games for LA in 2005 but didn't make the 2006 squad and signed with Portland in April of that year. He played for Portland Timbers in 2006 making 17 appearances with 2 goals and 3 assists. He didn't make the 2007 squad and it's unknown if he's playing this year.

Michael Enfield (UCLA)
2nd round Superdraft (15th overall) by Los Angeles Galaxy
The UCLA product played in 11 games during his 2 years with the Galaxy. Enfield was waived after the 2006 season. He doesn't appear to have played again until going Sydney FC (Australia; A-league) this year.

Kevon Harris (Old Dominion)
The Jamaican born Harris was not drafted. He does not appear to have played professionally since college.

Chris Karcz (Rutgers)
3rd Round Supplemental draft (27th overall) by Chicago Fire
Karcz didn't make teh Fire's squad. He's had some injury problems but recently popped up with Soccer by Ives mentioning him as the Crew and NYRB have had a spat over him. The Crew have his rights and have been trying to get something out of the New York Red Bulls for him if he's going to play for them. So far it looks like the Crew still have his rights.

Thabiso Khumalo (Coastal Carolina)
3rd Round Superdraft (36th overall) by Chicago Fire
From Soweto (a black urban area near Johanesburg), Khumalo was drafted by the Chicago Fire. He didn't make the squad and ended up with the Charleston Battery in USL-1. In 2006 Khumalo played for the USL-2 Wilmington Hammerheads scoring a goal in 20 appearance for the USL-2 club. He isn't on the 2007 roster and it is unknown if he's still playing.

Jeffrey Krause (New Mexico)
Krause was not drafted and doesn't appear to have played professionally since college.

Luke Kreamalmeyer (Bradley)
4th round Superdraft (37th overall) by Real Salt Lake
Luke won the inaugural Tom Fitzgerald Award as the outstanding player at the 2005 combine. He was a good example of a player whose value rose at the player combine. He played with the Chicago Fire Reserves (previosuly St. Louis Stikers) in the PDL. He was drafted for Real Salt Lake and played for them in their innagural season. Luke was cut by Real Salt Lake after the 2005 season he joined the Portland Timbers where he was one the few bright spots during the teams poor 2006 showing. He was named to the USL-1 all-11 for 2006. He is again playing with the Portland Timbers (USL-1) in 2007.

Doug Lascody (SW Missouri)
3rd Round Supplemental Draft (35th pick overall) by Kansas City Wizards
Lascody appears to have made the squad in 2005 but did not play. He doesn't appear to have played professionally after the 2005 season.

Amir Lowery (Wake Forest)
4th Round Superdraft (45th overall) drafted by Colorado Rapids
The DC native, Wake Forest product played with the Carolina Dynamo (PDL) before joining the MLS. Lowery only played for 1 minute in one game in 2005 for the Rapids. It's unclear what he did in 2006. He is currently on the Kansas City Wizards 2007 roster as a developmental player.

Domenic Mediate (Maryland)
2nd Round Superdraft (23rd Overall) by Columbus Crew
Mediate made 11 appearances and scored a goal for the Columbus Crew in 2005. Domenic looks to be the first Wyoming-born player in the MLS. He was traded to DC United for a 4th round pick in the 2006 Supplemental draft. He made 8 appearances for DC United in 2006. He was cut before the 2007 season. It's unclear if he's caught on with a new club yet.

John Minagawa-Webster (Michigan State)
4th Round SuperDraft (47th overall) by Kansas City Wizards
Minagawa-Websterdidn't make the KC squad in 2005 and doesn't appear to have played since then.

Danny O’Rourke (Indiana)
4th overall by San Jose Earthquakes
O'Rourke played for Quakes in 2005 in 13 games, losing the his starting spot in the midfield to US International Ricardo Clark. Before the 2006 season began, Houston (ex-San Jose) traded O' Rourke to New York Red Bulls for Adrian Serioux. He made 28 appearances for NYRB. But after 2006 season NYRB made him avaiable in expansion draft. Toronto FC took him in the expansion draft but traded the Hermann Trophy winner O'Rourke and Wil Hesemer to Coloumbus Crew for parial allocation.

Steven Rhyne (Clemson)
1st round Supplemental Draft by Real Salt Lake
Rhyne did not make the team and doesn't to have played since then.

Ian Rodway (Maryland)
Rodway was not drafted by the MLS. He did play with Cleveland Force in 2005. The Force went under after the season and Rodway was selected by Baltimore Blast before 2006 in dispersal draft. Ian was a honorable mention for 1998 all-metro DCHS team. Interesting enough this was the same year Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Oguchi "Gooch" Onyewu (Newcastle United) and Micah Cooks (ex-DC United ; ex-Charlseton Battery) made the 2nd all-metro team. Scott Buete (ex-Chicago Fire; Atlanta Silverbacks) was in the first 11.

Simone Salinno (St. Johns)
Salino was not drafted and may have returned to his native Italy.

Jamal Shteiwi (Kentucky)
Shteiwi wasn't drafted. He played in 3 games in 2005 for Cincinnati Kings (USL-2). He joined Ian Rodway at Cleveland Force in MISL. Shteiwi was selected by Milwaukee Wave in 11th round (66th overall) of 2005 dispirsol draft. He played for Carolina Dynamo (PDL) in 2004 along with Amir Lowery, Justin Moose (DC United), James Riley (New England), and Stephen Rhyne. Marcus Storley also played on that team.

Marcus Storley (North Carolina)
Sorely wasn't drafted and doesn't appear to have played since then. He did play on 2004 Carolina Dynamo (PDL) team along with quite a few of his fellow 2005 combine players.

Nick Van Sicklen (Wisconsin - Madison)
2nd round Superdraft (19th overall) by DC United
Van Sicklen made the DC United team in 2005 but didn't see playing time during the regular season. He later played for Canterbury United (Christchurch) in the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC).

2007 FCTP MLS Rookie of the Week...Week 5...

Another week of MLS games is in the books. We're starting to see who has earned a starting spot and who was getting a look but may not have impressed his manager. This week saw fewer MLS players see the field in addition to fewer rookies. Out of 159 MLS players taking the field, only 9 or 6% were rookies. 56% of the rookies started their matches and 22% played an entire match.

So who played the entire 90 this week? Read on:
Michael Harrington
Adam Cristman (2nd match)

Who started but didn't last? See below:
Dane Richards
John Cunliffe
Guy-Roland Kpene (2nd match)

Finally, who came on as a sub:
Adam Cristman (1st match)
Guy-Roland Kpene (1st match)
Nico Colaluca
Wells Thompson

This week it comes down to Cristman and Richards. Richards scored a highlight reel goal and if DeRo didn't create his cracking goal, I'm sure Richards would have a chance to get Goal of the Week. Cristmas was dangerous for the Revs against Chicago and managed to get his third assist of the season. He also played twice this week showing he has what it takes to be a professional. I'm going to have to go with Cristmas. He created chances with shots and passes and helped New England put the game out of reach against a tough conference foe. Congrats Adam. He becomes our first two time winner.

2005 Adidas College Combine (Forwards)

Awhile ago I posted information on players from the 2006 MLS combine [GKs and Defenders; Midfielders; Forwards]. In looking around the Internet, I couldn't find any sources that looked at players from the combine and how they panned out. There were articles about the combines going into the drafts but no follow up afterward breaking down which players made in the MLS or even went on to play professionally. With From College To Pros being about looking at the development of young players in America, it seemed the right spot to sharing this information. I welcome everyone to look over the list and share information and their own conclusions on these players.

2005 Adidas MLS Player Combine - Forwards

Knox Cameron (Michigan)
Superdraft 4th round (44th overall) by Columbus Crew
Knox was a player that generated a decent amount of buzz during his time in the league. He was a big striker that likely would've been taking higher in the draft had he not suffered a knee injury in the year before the draft. He had previously played for the Mid-Michigan Bucks (PDL). Born in Jamaica, Knox Cameron had chosen to play for the US at the youth level. He played in 30 games for the Crew during his 2 years in the league (2005 + 2006). In 2006 Crew coach Sigi Schmid tried to convert him to a defender. But he wasn't developing as hoped and was released by the Columbus Crew after the 2006 season. He isn't playing in 2007 as he's returned to college to complete his studies.

Justin Cook (Ohio State)
Supplemental Draft 1st round (3rd overall) by Chicago Fire
I'm not sure if Justin made the Fire's roster in 2005. He doesn't appear to have played in any leagues since the combine.

Jamie Holmes (Birmingham Southern)
Supplemental Draft 2nd round (17th overall) by New England Revolution
Holmes made New England's roster but only played in one game for 20 minutes in 2005. He doesn't appear to have played in any leagues since the 2005 MLS season.

Antouman Jallow (Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Superdraft 4th round (41st overall) by San Jose Easrthqueakes
Born in Gambia, Jallow was a Swedish citizen who came to the US to play at the University of Milwaukee - Wisconsin (other MLS alumn such as Manny Lagos and Tony Sanneh played there). Jallow did not make the 2005 San Jose (now Houston) squad. He returned to Sweden to play for Gefle IF in Sweden's top flight (Allsvenskan). He does not appear to be on the current Gefle roster.

Ryan Latham (Southern Methodist)
Supplemental Draft 2nd round (21st overall) by New England Revolution
Latham Got 6 games under his belt in his first year with the Revolution. He didn't see any playing time for Steve Nicol's squad in his 2nd year other than an appearance in a friendly against Celtic FC. He was waived before the season was over and doesn't appear to be playing in 2007.

Jerrod Laventure (Seton Hall)
Laventure was not drafted but joined the then Metrostars reserve team in 2005. In 2006 he made the first team on a developmental contract seeing all of 70 minutes of action in league play. He made the squad again in 2007.

Chris Lee (Marquette)
Supplemental Draft 4th Round (44th overall) by Columbus Crew
Lee was also drafted by Milwaukee Wave (MISL) in 2005. But he didn't play professionally after college for either the Crew nor the Wave.

Alon Lubezky (Hartford)
Lubezky was drafted by any Major League Soccer teams. He played for the Charleston Battery in 19 games (4 goals) in 2005. He doesn't appear to have played in 2006 and may have returned to his native Israel.

Julian Nash (Creighton)
Superdraft 4th Round (40th overall) by San Jose Earthquakes
Nash played over 200 minutes in his first year wit the then San Jose Earthquakes. He stayed with the team after their move to Houston for the 2006 but only played 95 minutes. He was released by the team after the season.

Orlando Ramirez (Fresno Pacific University)
Superdraft 3rd round (31st overall) by San Jose Earthquakes
Ramirez played with San Jose in 2005 but didn't make any first team appearances. 2005 appears to be the only year he played professionally.

Chris Rolfe (Dayton)
Superdraft 3rd Round (29th Overall) by Chicago Fire
Rolfe may the most accomplished of players that attended the 2005 MLS College Combine. He's earned 6 caps with the US Mens National Team (USMNT). He scored 8 goals and had 5 assists in this rookie year. He was a candidate for Rookie of the Year in '05 (Parkhurst won). He's scored 18 goals and 9 assists including a great start to the 2007 season with 3 goals and 3 assists in the first 5 games. Before joining the Chicago Fire he played with the Chicago Fire Premier team in the PDL.

Edwin Ruiz (Hartwick)
Supplemental Draft 1st Round (11th overall) by Kansas City Wizards
Ruiz didn't get any playing time with KC in 2005. He doesn't appear to have played since then.

Scott Sealy (Wake Forest)
Superdraft 1st Round (11th overall) by Kansas City Wizards
One of the more productive picks of a very strong first round Superdraft class (they are all still in the league; a far cry from the days when Steve Shak was the #1 overall pick). Sealy lead KC in scoring in 2006 and has racked up 20 goals in 59 league appearances (40 starts). With Josh Wolf gone to 1860 Munich, KC will be looking for him to score goals and keep teams from paying too much attention to Eddie Johnson. Unfortunately for Sealy he was not taken to Germany by Trinidad and Tobago for their first ever World Cup appearance in 2006 (interestingly enough Cornell Glen, who's struggled to shine in the MLS, was & played in all 3 games).

Eugene Sepuya (Alabama A & M)
Supplemental Draft 3rd Round (31st Overall) by Colorado Rapids
Only played 18 minutes and committed one foul for Colorado Rapids in 2005. The Ugandan international was released and later joined FC Banats in Armenia.

Chad Severs (Penn State)
Severs went undrafted in 2005. He played for Harrisburg (USL-2) in 2005 & 2006. Severs finished the 2005 season second in the USL 2nd Division in goals and points. He joined the Rochester Raging Rhinos (USL-1) for the 2007 season.

Abe Thompson (Maryland)
Supplemental Draft 2nd round (16th overall)
Before joining the MLS, Abe played in the PDL for the Cheasapeake Dragons and Boulder Rapids Reserves. He's had 6 goals and 6 assists in 345 appearances in the MLS including 2007.

Mychal Turpin (Michigan)
Turpin was not drafted by any MLS teams. He went on to play for the Richmond Kickers (USL-2) in 2005. In 2006 he played for the Mid-Michigan Bucks in the PDL including in their 2006 PDL Championship win.

Usiel Vasquez (Southern Connecticut)
Supplemental Draft 4th Round (32nd overall) by NY/NJ Metrostars
Vasquez didn't make the 2005 roster for the then Metrostars (now New York Red Bulls). But he did have a successful trial with the Charleston Battery (USL-1) where he played in 2005 and 2006.

More on MLS salaries...FCTP style...

Over the weekend I was able to do some further number crunching. What I found was somewhat positive. Let's take a look.

There are 79 rookies on the books in MLS making a total of $1,682,200 Base and $2,072,025 Guaranteed. That is an average of $21,294/$26,228. While that isn't good money by anyone's standards consider this, these kids are being payed to play a game they love and they don't work a 40 hour week like the rest of us. There is time for part time jobs, just ask Troy Perkins, there is time for coaching, etc. I'd argue those making the average or more are doing ok for fresh out of college kids.

Here is where I see the silver lining. There are 63 sophomore players on the books making a total of $1,839,445 Base and $2,232,528 Guaranteed. So the average sophomore player is making $28,459/$34,210. That is a 37%/35% increase respectively. What MLS is doing is telling these young kids, work hard, play well and you'll get rewarded.

Here are some examples of sophomore players who stepped up to the plate, had solid rookie seasons and were rewarded with bigger deals. All numbers below will be guaranteed numbers and the percentage is the increase between 2006 and 2007.
Jonathan Bornstein: $28,000/$57,500 - 105%
Willis Forko: $16,500/$30,000 - 82%
Atiba Harris: $16,500/$30,000 - 82%
Mehdi Ballouchy: $63,000/$88,000 - 40%
Jacob Peterson: $63,750/$88,750 - 39%
Patrick Ianni: $78,000/$103,000 - 32%
Sacha Kljestan: $78,000/$103,000 - 32%
Nathan Sturgis: $78,000/$103,000 - 32%
Jason Garey: $45,000/$53,750 - 19%
Willie Sims: $37,500/$43,000 - 15%

Please note, I am assuming these are performance based bonuses because these are kids who played well in their rookie seasons. There is a chance that the increase was negotiated into the player's contract, especially in the case of the bigger names like Ianni, Kljestan and Sturgis. All three of these guys are Generation Adidas players, so is Sims. However, not all Generation Adidas players got this kind of raise (see Blake Wagner). Without being told how these contracts were structured, I can't say for sure...but it is my hypothesis.

Looking at what MLS players earn is always interesting. It certainly isn't Baseball, Football or Basketball money, but things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully we'll see more years of raises for the young guys and hopefully the top talent can be snared before they leave for European pastures.

US U-17 Men Qualify for 2007 U-17 World Cup...

And they did it with a loss. Ohh well, their ticket had been punched by a Trinidad & Tobago victory against Canada earlier in the day. Their play in the first two matches was enough to go through. The US will continue the streak of being the only country in the world to play in all of the U-17 World Cups. The event kicks off in August in S. Korea and runs into September. Many future MLS players will be on display so be sure to catch a few of the matches.

2007 MLS Player Salaries - Dis-Parity...

MLS is a league that wants parity. League Commissioner, Don Garber, comes from the NFL where parity has made the league one of the top sports money makers in the USA. NASCAR is one of the ultimate places of parity due to all of the rules placed on the cars and teams. Parity is seen as a way to keep MLS growing together as a league as opposed to the old NASL model of every team for themselves towards destruction. So far so good.

This 2007 season is one of the most exciting in terms of play on the field, off-season moves, new stadiums, etc. However, the nagging issue in the league is how to best grow American talent without pushing them out the door once they become successful and more valuable. MLS wants to keep a lid on player salaries while increasing the quality of the on field product. So far they've been able to do it with modest annual increases to lowest level player salaries. However, this year a huge gulf has grown between the MLS player have and have nots. David Beckham will earn more in one year then most MLS players in five lifetimes. Granted, he is the most recognizable sports figure on the planet...he's worth it. But that does not mean young American players won't be jealous and I believe that is the tough issue for MLS going forward.

The annual release of the league player salaries happened the other day so it is time for all the fans to tear into the analysis thereof.

On the one hand we have the Designated Players (Beckham, Reyna, Angel and Blanco). Combined those four players will earn base salaries of $10,492,324. Ok, pick your jaw up off the ground. We all knew Beckham was going to cost a lot of money and he accounts for 52% of that figure at $5,500,000/year base.

The total payroll for the league in 2007 is $37,448,179 in base salary. One impressive figure is that the league payroll grew by 54% or $13,177,970 this off-season. 80% of the growth were the DP signings. 16% was the addition of Toronto. So 4% is the increase across the rest of the league. I should point out that the league is not paying DP salaries over $400,000. The team owner is responsible for the rest. So the above figured are not all paid by the league.

MLS as a league and individual clubs have many new sources of revenue this season between the new TV rights deals, shirt advertisers, stadium revenue, player sales, etc. The league's owners obviously decided it would be more worthwhile to bring in big name stars then it would give the low level grunts big raises. I can't say I disagree. David Beckham's signature alone has given the league much needed publicity and no doubt helped New York capture one of the most dangerous strikers we've seen on these shores in Juan Pablo Angel. The investment made in these DP players will no doubt help grown the league. However, I'm the defender of the young and poor so let's take a look at them.

The lowest 2007 base salary is $12,900, a 10% raise over 2006. That is a generous raise by any employers standards. The 2007 US Department of Health and Human services says for a one person household the poverty level is $10,210...so at least our young players aren't impoverished. Second year developmental players are earning $17,700, a 7% increase over 2006. Overall MLS is moving in the right direction for these kids. However, it isn't keeping the likes of Greg Dalby and Kyle Davies from exploring their options abroad. Money isn't the only motivation but I'm willing to bet more young American players would stay here if the salaries were better.

This brings up another point I have made before. Talent level should count for something. Top prospects like Michael Harrington ($36,000 base/$53,500 guaranteed), Maurice Edu ($50,000 base/$132,500 guaranteed) and Bakary Soumare ($45,000 base/$78,000 guaranteed) are getting paid good money in 2007. Some of the better performing rookies to this point in the season are more in the neighborhood of $30,000 base/$30,000 guaranteed. The guys making the bottom developmental salaries are in some ways lucky to have a job in the league thanks to the creation of the reserve division two seasons ago.

Here are some brief stats on league salaries in 2007:
Lowest: $12,900 Base/$12,900 Guaranteed
Maximum: $5,500,000 Base/$6,500,000 Guaranteed
Average: $104,312 Base/$115,520 Guaranteed
Median: $47,250 Base/$52,550 Guaranteed

Total: $37,448,179 Base/$41,471,723 Guaranteed

Part of the title to this post is Dis-Parity...and we can see that best when comparing the teams total salaries:
1 LA: $8,056,189/ $9,179,949
2 NY: $4,334,616/ $4,896,657
3 Chicago: $4,185,826/ $4,464,613
4 KC: $2,429,925/ $2,625,550
5 Colorado: $2,322,114/ $2,431,764
6 Houston: $2,215,849/ $2,292,049
7 RSL: $2,173,437/ $2,607,531
8 TFC: $2,130,520/ $2,453,708
9 DC: $2,003,278/ $2,163,103
10 NE: $1,992,948/ $2,087,948
11 Dallas: $1,992,804/ $2,285,629
12 Columbus: $1,807,199/ $2,044,249
13 Chivas USA: $1,750,375/ $1,885,875

The three teams with DP's are obviously on top. The "youthful" teams are on the bottom. The Hunt's like to hold their pocketbooks I suppose. I would like to draw some sort of conclusion between who spends the most and who wins, but it is too early to do that. Remind me at the end of the season.

Overall I was surprised to see such a big increase in the total payroll of the league. However, when I figured out what was due to DP signings and what was due to an additional team in the league, 4% sounds more typical. It is going to take many years of those kinds of increases for MLS to become a monetary draw for young American kids, but many of them are playing for the love of the game. I like that the top prospects are making good money but I don't want to see it all going towards Generation Adidas kids who don't start playing until their second or third year. I am happy to see Jonathan Bornstein get a raise from $28,000 to $57,500. He earned it. It is that type of break out player MLS needs to reward and keep around. The league seems to be learning that.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

2007 FCTP MLS Rookie of the Week...Week 4...

This week we had a lot of games and I am including the Colorado - RSL game in spite of MLS thinking it was a week 5 game. All told 217 MLS players took the field this week, a big increase from last week's total. 17, or 8% were rookies with 53% of the rookies starting their games. 35% of the rookies started and played the entire match.

Here are the rookies who played the entire game:
Chris Seitz
Dane Richards
Michael Harrington
Andrew Boyens
Maurice Edu
Ty Harden

Here are the rookies who started but didn't finish:
Maurice Edu (second game)
Michael Harrington (second game)
Robbie Findley

Here are the rookies who came on as subs:
Nico Colaluca
Andrew Boyens (second game)
Sinisa Ubiparipovic
Kurt Morsink
John Cunliffe
Adam Cristman
Wells Thompson
Osei Telesford

First off, we saw the #1 2007 MLS SuperDraft pick in action for the first time this week. Maurice Edu started both games for Toronto this week. In some of the action I saw he looked solid. He showed some creativity and composure in the TFC home opener getting a nice shot off.

Michael Harrington got the first two assists of his career this week, both coming in separate games against TFC. He is proving to be well worth the number three selection in the MLS SuperDraft. However, we've given him the award already this season.

Chris Seitz played well in his MLS debut. His first half save of a strong Kyle Beckerman shot kept the score at zeros going into halftime. Not all MLS keepers would have gotten to that one. However in the second half his defense let him down and he made a rookie mistake picking up that back pass. We're not going to debate if that was in fact a back pass here, but a veteran keeper would have left nothing to doubt by clearing the ball as far from his goal as possible. It looks as if Seitz will have a rookie season similar to Brad Guzan's, but Seitz looks to be the real deal and will probably win this award once or twice this season...if RSL's defense improves.

This week the FCTP MLS Rookie of the Week goes to Dane Richards. He's been a close runner up in past weeks and he continues to show well for the best team in MLS right now, New York. His speed on the flank keeps teams guessing and he helps open up space for Claudio Reyna to operate. New York gambled on Richards because of his international status but the 19th overall SuperDraft pick is paying dividends thus far.