What do you think of the following sequence of events? Step 1 - American-born player John Doe gets his start in MLS Step 2 - John plays for several seasons, improves, and eventually becomes a top talent and fan favorite, scoring 15 goals in a season Step 3 - John realizes he's currently making $150K/year, that the EPL would pay him $800K/year, and when his soccer days are over he'll earn $30K/year as a high school coach Step 4 - EPL clubs make bids for John for $800K, John asks MLS for at least $600K, MLS won't counter with more than $300K, Doe goes to Europe, MLS excitedly collects the $2.2 million transfer fee, the fans are sad, his MLS club looks more like a "revolving door minor league" club Step 5 - MLS, looking to "improve quality" in the league, shops for some foreign talent for one of their DP spots Step 6 - MLS finds interest from Cartivian-born talent Juan Carlo Doez playing in the EPL Step 7 - MLS acquires Juan from his EPL club for a salary of $900K/year and a transfer fee of $3.3 million Step 8 - Juan Carlo Doez comes to MLS with much media hype surrounding him, scores 14 goals in a season, fans are only moderately impressed, and attendance numbers don't budge Real-life scenario #1: De Rosario I was very happy to learn that Dwayne De Rosario is getting his salary doubled in MLS (from $160K to $320K) and won't be going to Europe. Dwayne said his new salary still wasn't "anywhere near" what he was worth (presumably $500K+), but it was enough for his family to be comfortable. He's doing well in MLS, he has a home here, and the fans love him. That alone is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to him. MLS has a huge "hidden value" here that they successfully capitalized on. Real-life scenario #2: Keller If Kasey Keller is worth $1,000,000/year or more to many nations in Europe, and if we could make a DP spot in MLS for $500K/year that Keller would gladly take...why is MLS letting him slip through their fingers? Are they expecting Keller to take an MLS average salary of $100K/year? Keller has said that it's not all about money, and that he'd even come here for free to the right location. He said his family concerns are important, especially his kids and schools. There's a "hidden value" that MLS could achieve here. Not to mention the fan support, especially young kids, who often connect with American-born stars more.
Currently...no they shouldn't. The problem is, the "Top" players in MLS are pretty much all foreign. So by your case scenario, the mls team in question could keep John Doe who has probably less talent than a foreign DP selection or bring in someone with far more ability. Once the talent pool gets much better (which it is doing day by day) then they can. Course I'm looking at this from an American perspective...if you were meaning just any good player in the MLS for DP status regardless of nationality, then I may think differently
