2007 MLS Rookies and What They Make...

MLS fans love to talk about salaries for young players in MLS and how they need to increase for the game to grow in the US, etc. etc. We've discussed it here too. Today I'm not going to get into that arguement again, but we're going to look at the facts. Which 2007 MLS rookies are earning their salaries in 2007. We can all argue what the best way to analyze this kind of thing is. First we'll look at a statistic or two, then we'll dive into some intangibles. Let's go, shall we?

First off, by my count there are 86 rookies currently on MLS rosters. This does not include the pool players listed on the MLS website. There is a chance I'm missing one or two, but let's hope they're not one getting good playing time. Between all of the rookies they have played in 408 games, scored 30 goals and made 29 assists. There is one more regular season game for 12 of the teams and two more for the Galaxy, so those number should change a little. Michael Harrington has proven to be the iron man of the rookie class having played in 28 of his teams 29 games. Adam Cristman and Dane Richards are following close behind with 27 games out of 29. Wells Thompson, Maurice Edu, Robert Findley, Ty Harden, Andrew Boyens, Corey Ashe and Kurt Morsink have all broken the 20 game barrier.

So how do you create stats to show impact on a team based on what they cost? Heck, I don't know, but here were some of my ideas.

Games Played/$ 2007 Guaranteed Salary:
This one will obviously be won by the guy who took the low ball salary and made the most of it earning a lot of playing time. In this case, Adam Cristman is the lucky winner. He pulled down a paltry $17,700 in 2007 (not including any bonuses) and will certainly be offered more to stay in 2008. Following Adam we've got Dane Richards, Wells Thompson and Ty Harden. All these of these guys earned the $30,000 salary reserved for guys on the senior roster. I'm not sure if any of them were moved up mid-season. Rounding out the top ten are: Chris Lancos, Corey Ashe, Kurt Morsink, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Michael Harrington and Robbie Findley. Those are the guys who cost the least for the number of games they played.

Who's on the other end of the spectrum? Anthony Wallace only made one start while pulling down Generation Adidas kind of money; $78,000. Israel Sesay, Chris Seitz, Nico Colaluca and Osei Telesford are just some of the guys making a good paycheck while not playing too much. Maurice Edu is far down on this list because he's guaranteed $132,500 in 2007 despite having played a big role in the FC Toronto midfield.

Then there are guys like Bryan Arguez, David Arvizu, Abdus Ibrahim and Amaechi Igwe earning over $50,000 in 2007 while not playing in a single senior game. They're young but will need to make an impact next year if they want to outlive their big Generation Adidas contracts.

Goals/$ 2007 Guaranteed Salary:
Forwards are obviously going to be expected to score goals and win games for their teams. In this one we're measuring a player's goal production value, based on their 2007 salary. Once again Adam Cristman wins for the same reason he did in the last category; he's on a developmental salary and scoring goals. He's followed by Robert Findley, Salvatore Caccavale, Dane Richards, John Cunliffe, Omar Cummings, Jerson Monteiro, Michael Harrington, Wells Thompson, Maurice Edu, Nicholas Addlery and Andrew Boyens.

That is all of the rookies who have scored goals ranked by their "value" measure I've created. Cristman sure is looking like a steal, isn't he? Once again, those who didn't score didn't make the list and look much less valuable by this statistic.

Assists/$ 2007 Guaranteed Salary:
The final statistic based measure I came up with for this one. Similar to the other two but for helpers. No one should be surprised that Adam Cristman wins again. He's scored 4 goals and made 4 assists on a developmental player salary. I certainly hope he gets a raise. He's followed in descending order by: Dane Richards, Corey Ashe, Michael Harrington, Guy Kpene, Chris Lancos, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Josh Tudela, Brad Evans, Nicholas Addlery, John Cunliffe, Andrew Boyens and finally Maurice Edu.

While numbers and statistics are fun, they certainly don't tell the whole story. If they did, Adam Cristman would win the Rookie Of The Year Award and Maurice Edu would lose; in 2007 that isn't right. Edu should be one of the final three in this race. However, I will say that seeing Cristman in this light really moves him up my list. They guy was drafted 48th overall in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, he was offered a crappy wage and he made the most of it. He worked hard, earned a spot in a crowded lineup on a good team and helped them win some games with a few goals and assists. This kid wasn't hyped like the generation adidas kids who earn a lot of money for comparatively little production.

Other guys who's stock rose for me during this exercise: Robbie Findley, Michael Harrington, Dane Richards, Wells Thompson and Ty Harden. All these guys are playing the game they love for lower salaries (Findley and Harrington have broken the $45,000 barrier.)

Now onto Maurice Edu. For the money, it is hard to compare him to the guys on developmental and regular contracts. He's making Generation Adidas money and it shows. He was a player the league knew could come in and contribute and they went after him hard. The guys in the last paragraph didn't have as strong a bargaining position. I'm not trying to marginalize Edu's contribution this year. He has been a stud for Toronto. He is no doubt going to continue to improve in the future in MLS and he'll help raise the level of play on the field, justifying his high salary. He'll probably win Rookie of the Year while he's at it. I'm not sure if my analysis here should be part of the criteria or not. If it is, the award goes to Cristman in my mind.

How about the other Generation Adidas players pulling down big money with little return. Did the league mis-scout? Are they too young and still growing into their games? MLS needs to figure this out because if they're wasting good money on poor prospects, the problem needs to be fixed. The 2006 class has seen some guys have superior sophomore years compared to their rookie campaigns, so here's hoping one or two of the 2007 class can be the next Altidore, McCarty or Wynne.