Inflated costs for average players. Essentially some of these players salaries are so inflated that they have become a tombstone in the living-room
Well let's not go crazy Zoid. 5 times the player? He may be about 15% better as a player (yeah, i know .... where did i come up with that), but that percentage translates to a HUGE when it comes to value. The margins are never as great as we make them out to be though.
This is laying it on a bit thick, but I said this when the Dempsey signing happened... i'm concerned about that being a completely game-changing contract (in sort of a bad way). How can you even attempt to lure a big European name without them asking for money in that range? That being said, I can understan Bradley at 6 million way more than I can understand Mo Edu at 1.2 million. The guy was a solid MLS player, but has done almost nothing since leaving the league to justify that kind of paycheck within this league. An he will not move the needle in any way since he has become a serious longshot to make the WC roster. Bradley is damn near the US Captain, and Clint Dempsey literally is. Edu's return should be closer to the Parkhurst salary range IMHO, or like 500K, etc.
Can no one see an issue with the league actually paying part of the transfer fee to get certain players to certain teams while telling other teams that they can't spend their own money to sign other players?
Welcome to a single-entity. Things are a bit strange here. (But overall the league will make do, and regularly thrive.) For all we know "MLS balks at Edu's 1.2M salary" could actually be "Philly balks at Edu's 1.2M salary" -- and MLS might be willingly taking the fall/blame here, like a good single-entity would/should.
"They" (the league) did something similar to some other team a wrt Kenny Cooper, at some point, right?
That makes no sense. No one has a problem if Philly decides the price is too high. It is their team to run Most everyone is going to flip when the league makes decisions for teams.
The general belief AIUI is that Dallas used the league FO as a fall guy on that one, it was Dallas who really didn't want to pay Cooper.
MLS did? I thought Mix balked cause he didn't like how that the league controlled the player's rights
yeah but how many people got pissed off when MLS FO nixed Mellberg to TFC deal? (who btw, was playing in CL few months ago...) DP wage inflation happened with Dempsey/Defoe/Bradley. MLS is not going to get that genie in the bottle anytime soon.
MLS is making decisions in conjunction with the teams (and as the collection of the teams). Always has, always will -- for as long as MLS is a single-entity. Functionally and honestly there is no real difference between "the league" and "the team(s)."
For ~$550k, sure. At that level, you might be able to buy him down under what ever the new dp limit will be after the CBA is signed next season. For ~$1.2m, no not so much.
In the case of DP's there is great difference. There is a reason AEG, and Red Bull has signed big money players and not Kraft and that is specifically because there is a real difference between league and teams. If there wasn't, the big name dp's would be more spread around instead of going to the more ambitious owners willing to pay the salaries.
Don't worry. Others have assured us there is no difference between the league and individual teams. Your big names are coming even if your owner is unsure where your stadium is located.
And that's the point, the league is (rightly, imo) setting that level of "more ambitious owners." TFC's ambition (and resources) to sign Bradley surpassed other teams' -- including Philly's -- ambition in that case. And apparently Philly's ambition in this case is outside what MLS the league-collective deems is appropriate. The league signs all the players. Edu would not be the first "league-denied DP signing."
I was working off of the idea that "most everyone is going to flip" would somehow have to be something MLS should concern itself with, as a business.