It was a personal conversation with a president of a PDL team. It was just a conversation so I don't remember the details or exact amount or details.
In the late 90s early 2000s, there was a deal for 4 years which basically gave MLS first dibs on anyone they wanted from all levels of the USL. Each year there was a $250,000 fund that was divided between the teams that had players entering MLS that year. If i remember correctly the previous 3 years counted, so if a player had played 1 year in pdl, 1 year in d3 and 1 year in the a league, then each of those teams got a piece.
Some names of NPSL players who went on to pro careers from the league's old blog http://npslinsider.wordpress.com/npsl-players-turned-pro/ There have been more since this list was made a few years ago. I came up with these just from the Midwest Division off the top of my head; I'm sure there are plenty from other regions. JC Banks, Madison 56ers to USL PRO Rochester Rhinos Scott Lorenz, Madison 56ers to Sporting Kansas City Alex Horwath, Madison 56ers to New York Red Bulls Andy Adlard, Milwaukee Bavarians and Madison 56ers to Columbus Crew Zeke Dombrowski, Milwaukee Bavarians to Wilmington Hammerheads Matt Pyzdrowski, Milwaukee Bavarians, now with Angelholms (Swedish second division) Greg Rosenthal, St. Paul Twin Stars to Gamla Upsala (Swedish fourth division) Jules Alex Nyom, St. Paul Twin Stars to RoPS (Finland)
Ryan Guy played a couple of games for San Diego Flash this year before going to the Revs. There have also been some NPSL-to-USL Pro stories, especially Pittsburgh Riverhounds picking up players from Pocono Snow.
From Atlanta FC (now Silverbacks Reserves), Junior Sandoval and Shaka Bangura both got signed with the Puerto Rico Islanders.
this is old tax return but if you will kindly turn to page 11 you will see...if you happen to be looking to purchase a soccer expansion franchise....the NPSL is really the only choice... http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/204/990/2009-204990215-0619024e-Z.pdf
A PDL franchise fee can be between $100,000-200,000. An NPSL franchise fee is around $7,500-8,000. No doubt about it...PDL has been more successful since it has been around MUCH longer. This NPSL has only been around since 2002. They started with like 6 teams in California. The 2013 season will see PDL and NPSL each having around 60-65 teams. There's no reason why we won't see more NPSL teams popping up. The structure is there for anyone to have an NPSL team and be successful. I could end up seeing the NPSL being two-tiered like the WPSL is. There could end up being an "Elite" level and a lower below.
That's not an awful idea. The one bummer about it is the season is already long enough. The NPSL championship is at the end of July. Any games after that would really be pushing it for the amateur players that are still connected with college teams.
Chris Wondolowski (Chico Rooks) and David Bingham (Bay Area Ambassadors) of the SJ Earthquakes both played in the NPSL at one point.
Your quote for the PDL franchise fee is way out. You should be able to run a PDL team through the PDL season for less than 100k which includes a 1st year only franchise fee. After that initial year, you could realistically run it for 40-50k quite easily. NPSL would be substantially more than your quote as well if you include full full running costs for the season.
Are you serious? Did you even follow the links? They aren't even "my quotes." I also know what the NPSL is...from experience (although I have only quoted what the franchise fee is, nothing more, nothing less -- obviously the operating budget is different AND more). I didn't even need a link for that one. Thank you.
the last I checked on this was back in 2008-2009 and the USL PDL expansion franchise fee was $75K and the NPSL expansion franchise fee was $5K. So I'm reasonably sure that they have increased since then. I would venture an educated guess and say that $100K to $125K for entry into the USL PDL at this time would be reasonable.
I think you can honestly say that to run a NPSL team effectively you're looking at 20k-30k annually. The teams for the most part are closer together and you play less matches. The biggest cost is travel (although the home team pays for hotels if they are needed). To join the league is 12k membership fee. The PDL is 50k to join now (I believe that is the current cost, not 75k). From what I gather it is probably 40-50k to run a team. I don't see how it would cost more than that past the initial franchise fee which I believe is payable over the first 3 years. Between the two you'll see they are the same size; however, the NPSL is run on a very bare bones budget. A little chaotic as everyone has an equal vote (which has it's good points and bad) as they aren't selling franchises. PDL is much more professionally run, has full time staff and a much more integrated pyramid. I think I've said this here (or maybe the NAS email list). It is fantastic to see 120-130 teams at the 4th tier of soccer in this country. Think back to say 2002 - we were just starting to put our country in the right direction, had what 12 teams in MLS, and another 8-10 teams in the USL 1st Division, and about 70 Amateur teams in the 4th tier (NPSL/PDL). Now we have 19 MLS teams (20 soon), a 2nd division that is starting to gain traction with standards put in place by US Soccer, a pretty solid third division in USL Pro (and hopefully the integration of MLS reserve teams in the next few years), 130 4th tier teams, plus now the US Soccer Developmental Academy feeding those. For just over 10 years, that is significant progress. We aren't Europe/South America, but this is the start of something that will eventually lead to our better players getting exposed to higher and higher levels of the game. It will only help the NPSL/PDL getting players like that too (the young one's getting into the senior levels of the game and the old guys looking to kick the ball competitively outside of a pub league [the NPSL is not a pub league anymore] for a year or two more).
Chris, unless you are getting a huge discount for paying them in your Loons, the USL PDL expansion fee now starts at minimum $100K. http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/franchise/123541.html
I guess I don't know everything haha! It was at 75k then went to 50k a couple years ago when the NPSL raised theirs to 12k. So start up is much more, but the annual expenditures should still be pretty much about the same.
I would think that the area of the country you're in also makes a difference. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, there is no NPSL. If you're in the Bay Area, there is no PDL.
I generally don't follow outdated links but hey, if you want to read information that's years old, carry on.
well Texas, what I can say is that it's currently on the USL PDL website...and the one thing that I can say as a positive about the USL as compared to the NPSL, their website and updates and information provided is far superior.
I agree Mike, the USL website is updated well with information but your link is still an old one. This is the current PDL Franchise Discovery page http://www.uslsoccer.com/Discover/PDL/index_E.html You can tell the difference with the divisional tabs. Your link has the old division format of USL First Division & Two which we all know now longer exists. There's also the Nike sponsor as opposed to the old Umbro one.