What American College Players Have To Look Forward To...
I want to call my readers' attention to this article by Kristian Dyer on ESPNsoccernet. Odds are, you are an avid soccer reader and saw it before my blog, but that is neither here nor there.
Kristian brings up the MLS developmental contract situation for us all to ponder further, however this time there is a real example in Jay Needham. I'm glad Dyer checked in with Needham, I was wondering how life was treating him in USL. Sounds like things are going well and he is earning a good, living wage.
That is what I really take away from Dyer's story. MLS needs to figure out how to pay these kids a living wage so that they don't feel the need to work multiple jobs taking them away from improving at soccer. That is what the developmental contract is all about, right? How is MLS justifying forcing its young players to get second jobs and not focus 100% on the sport they're employed to play? That doesn't add up.
Here is what does add up. The 2007 developmental salary is $12,900 for the lowest and $17,700 for the second tier. We all agree, peanuts. What is holding the league back from making the minimum salary $35,000/year regardless of status? At most that is an increase of $22,100/player. If the entire developmental team was made up of $12,900 players then that is an increase to the salary cap of $221,000 per team (not all developmental players on a team are making the min, so the increase could be less.)
Is $221,000 going to break a team's bank? No. To take it further, let's see who earned that much on their own in 2007:
Fred in DC: $222,008
Chris Armas in Chicago: $225,000
Pat Noonan in New England: $227,500
Jeff Cunningham in Toronto: $232,500
Richard Mulrooney in Houston: $233,200
Greg Vanney in DC: $236,667
Ante Razov in CA: $248,750
Ronnie O'Brien in Toronto: $258,750
Eddie Pope in SLC: $265,000
Jamie Moreno in DC: $275,000
Amando Guevera in ????: $291,250
Luciano Emilio in DC: $293,125
Pablo Mastroeni in Colorado: $298,000
Carl Robinson in Toronto: $315,000
Taylor Twellman in NE: $350,008
Clint Mathis in NY: $410,000
Carlos Ruiz in Dallas: $435,000
Freddy Adu in SLC (before Portugal): $550,000
Eddie Johnson in KC: $875,000
Landon Donovan in LA: $900,000
Claudio Reyna in NY: $1,250,008
Juan Pablo Angel in NY: $1,593,750
Blanco in Chicago: $2,666,778
Beckham in LA: $6,500,000
The question in my eyes becomes: Are 10 potential league players worth one Fred, one Chris Armas, one Eddie Pope? If you are trying to improve the sport in the US then the answer had better be yes! I'm not trying to make a comparison between one star and 10 potential stars. And most of the guys earning $12,900 aren't breaking down the door to a starting spot, but what if they're busting their hump at a day job and not producing on the field because they are working two jobs? The salary is actually doing them a disservice.
At the start of the season there were 56 guys making $12,900 and 36 making $17,700. That has no doubt changed as some players have been promoted to senior players and some have left the league. Upgrading all of those players to a good coming out of college salary of $35,000 would cost the league $1,860,400. Somewhere inbetween Blanco and Angel. That is $1,860,400 for 92 players to be able to concentrate only on soccer, 100% of the time. As teams sign sponsorship deals, increase the cost of season tickets, charge more for parking and food, they should be able to find that as loose change. MLS needs to remember that it is here to grow the sport and improve American soccer players. It needs to continue to invest in player growth, and that will continue to be hampered while these low salaries are payed to 26% of the league's employees.
Kristian brings up the MLS developmental contract situation for us all to ponder further, however this time there is a real example in Jay Needham. I'm glad Dyer checked in with Needham, I was wondering how life was treating him in USL. Sounds like things are going well and he is earning a good, living wage.
That is what I really take away from Dyer's story. MLS needs to figure out how to pay these kids a living wage so that they don't feel the need to work multiple jobs taking them away from improving at soccer. That is what the developmental contract is all about, right? How is MLS justifying forcing its young players to get second jobs and not focus 100% on the sport they're employed to play? That doesn't add up.
Here is what does add up. The 2007 developmental salary is $12,900 for the lowest and $17,700 for the second tier. We all agree, peanuts. What is holding the league back from making the minimum salary $35,000/year regardless of status? At most that is an increase of $22,100/player. If the entire developmental team was made up of $12,900 players then that is an increase to the salary cap of $221,000 per team (not all developmental players on a team are making the min, so the increase could be less.)
Is $221,000 going to break a team's bank? No. To take it further, let's see who earned that much on their own in 2007:
Fred in DC: $222,008
Chris Armas in Chicago: $225,000
Pat Noonan in New England: $227,500
Jeff Cunningham in Toronto: $232,500
Richard Mulrooney in Houston: $233,200
Greg Vanney in DC: $236,667
Ante Razov in CA: $248,750
Ronnie O'Brien in Toronto: $258,750
Eddie Pope in SLC: $265,000
Jamie Moreno in DC: $275,000
Amando Guevera in ????: $291,250
Luciano Emilio in DC: $293,125
Pablo Mastroeni in Colorado: $298,000
Carl Robinson in Toronto: $315,000
Taylor Twellman in NE: $350,008
Clint Mathis in NY: $410,000
Carlos Ruiz in Dallas: $435,000
Freddy Adu in SLC (before Portugal): $550,000
Eddie Johnson in KC: $875,000
Landon Donovan in LA: $900,000
Claudio Reyna in NY: $1,250,008
Juan Pablo Angel in NY: $1,593,750
Blanco in Chicago: $2,666,778
Beckham in LA: $6,500,000
The question in my eyes becomes: Are 10 potential league players worth one Fred, one Chris Armas, one Eddie Pope? If you are trying to improve the sport in the US then the answer had better be yes! I'm not trying to make a comparison between one star and 10 potential stars. And most of the guys earning $12,900 aren't breaking down the door to a starting spot, but what if they're busting their hump at a day job and not producing on the field because they are working two jobs? The salary is actually doing them a disservice.
At the start of the season there were 56 guys making $12,900 and 36 making $17,700. That has no doubt changed as some players have been promoted to senior players and some have left the league. Upgrading all of those players to a good coming out of college salary of $35,000 would cost the league $1,860,400. Somewhere inbetween Blanco and Angel. That is $1,860,400 for 92 players to be able to concentrate only on soccer, 100% of the time. As teams sign sponsorship deals, increase the cost of season tickets, charge more for parking and food, they should be able to find that as loose change. MLS needs to remember that it is here to grow the sport and improve American soccer players. It needs to continue to invest in player growth, and that will continue to be hampered while these low salaries are payed to 26% of the league's employees.
Labels: MLS, MLS Salaries, US Soccer
posted by Bonji at
11:54 AM
2 Comments:
I don't know about some other teams but my nephew is on the Crew Jrs and his coach is a developmental player that way he make extra money. He's a good coach.
By
Anonymous, at 4:49 PM
Player appearances and coaching do help supplement the income of some of the players. That is a plus, but I'd like to see players be able to play and not worry about second and third jobs, even in the soccer world.
By
Bonji, at 6:54 PM
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