I think the last two years they have given him big raises. This is something they didn't have to do, but of course he's deserved it. This year I'm guessing that they will do it yet again and pay him DP money. There have been reports of interest abroad, but I'm sure that the Quakes really want to hang on to him, especially as the local guy and the new stadium opening and all that. And being the local guy with new stadium coming down the pike, there's a lot of incentive for him to stay as well.
He's also his own agent and has remained loyal to the Quakes. I expect him to get another raise this year putting him above the $400k DP line.
Also, I couldn't help but chuckle at the contrast of Wondo with the $1M being paid to Boyd as he limped off the field at Buck Shaw after about 10 minutes Wed night. One challenge with the barrell chested bricklayer that is Steven Beitashour, and Boyd was done for the night.
With 21 goals, Wondo has moved up to a tie for #7 on the all-time single season scoring list. Tied with Hurtado in 96. http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2012/7/16/3162627/chris-wondolowski-history-mls-goals
What about the contract he signed. Isn't there an explicit legally binding obligation by both parties involved?
The following players make the same or more SJ Wondolowski Chris M $ 300,000.00 $ 300,000.00 PHI Adu Freddy M $ 400,000.00 $ 519,000.00 CHV Angel Juan Pablo F $ 350,000.00 $ 600,000.00 RSL Beckerman Kyle M $ 300,000.00 $ 311,250.00 LA Beckham David M $ 3,000,000.00 $ 3,999,999.96 POR Boyd Kris F $ 1,250,000.00 $ 1,515,000.00 COL Casey Conor F $ 400,000.00 $ 400,000.00 DAL de Guzman Julian M $ 1,863,996.00 $ 1,910,746.00 DC DeRosario Dwayne M $ 617,857.20 $ 663,190.53 MTL Di Vaio Marco F $ 1,000,008.00 $ 1,937,508.00 LA Donovan Landon F $ 2,400,000.00 $ 2,400,000.00 NE Feilhaber Benny M $ 400,000.00 $ 446,000.00 CHI Fernandez Alvaro M $ 300,000.00 $ 366,666.67 DAL Ferreira David M-F $ 600,000.00 $ 705,000.00 TOR Frings Torsten M $ 2,000,000.00 $ 2,413,666.67 TOR Hassli Eric F $ 550,000.00 $ 790,000.00 NY Henry Thierry F $ 5,000,000.00 $ 5,600,000.00 NE Joseph Shalrie M $ 495,000.00 $ 554,333.33 LA Keane Robbie F $ 2,917,241.00 $ 3,417,242.75 TOR Koevermans Danny F $ 1,150,000.00 $ 1,563,323.33 CHI MacDonald Sherjill F $ 360,000.00 $ 487,125.00 NY Marquez Rafael D $ 4,600,000.00 $ 4,600,000.00 CLB Marshall Chad D $ 310,000.00 $ 341,250.00 VAN Miller Kenny F $ 1,221,816.00 $ 1,239,316.00 SEA Montero Fredy F $ 600,000.00 $ 756,000.00 RSL Morales Javier M $ 425,000.00 $ 477,500.00 NY Pearce Heath D $ 292,499.00 $ 301,999.00 VAN Robson Barry M $ 439,999.92 $ 596,499.92 RSL Saborio Alvaro F $ 350,000.00 $ 405,625.00 DC Salihi Hamdi F $ 305,460.00 $ 487,460.00 DAL Shea Brek M-D $ 310,000.00 $ 354,000.00
Wondo is now one of only two players (Donovan being the other) to get to 20 goals when they were not in their first season in the league, and now holds the league reviews for fields by such a 'vet'. Also, he's one off the three-season record from the first post, with 55.
The Quakes weren't even obligated to give him the raises he has received. Not sure when his original deal was up, but they've regegoiated it (as I recall) bumping him up from $48k heading in 2010. It was just about two years ago that he started producing at an elite level (he was good but hardly great until about August of 2010, and was basically a 3rd forward until then).
What does contractual language have to do with a fan on BigSoccer expressing his opinion about whether a given player is sufficiently payed? This is not a courtroom. And if the Quakes and MLS are smart, they'll keep Wondo happy, notwithstanding the terms of his contract. As great as Wondo is on the pitch, he's better off it. He's pretty much the sports hero from central casting, especially here in the Bay Area.
So if he blows his knee out the first week of next season, should he volunteer to give back most of his salary? As far as "expressing your opinion", this is the N&A forum, and not You Be the Don. Opinions are fine, but anyone expressing them should expect to get called on stuff that is ludicrous from a business or legal standpoint.
Gee, thanks for the begrudging nod to the free-flowing exchange of ideas. There's nothing ludicrous whatsoever about the notion that a player who is underpaid should have his contract renegotiated to reflect his actual value. It happens all the time in other major professional sports leagues, and my understanding is that Wondo has previously received the same accomodation. The contract is really a non sequitor to the question of what Wondo deserves to be paid, not only on BigSoccer but in the real world, as well.
Yup. He made $48k in 2010, $175k in 2011, and now $300k, and I think each time he was still under contract, they just gave him a raise because he earned it. He was actually making $35k when he got here in 2009. He's come quite a long way.
Exactly. But whining about how he is underpaid, and what a horror it is helps the conversation and free flow of ideas how?
The person who posted that Wondo's compensation is a "travesty" wasn't "whining," in large measure because he wasn't offering a self-interested sentiment. He expressed an opinion, arguably hyperbolic, but nonetheless an implied invitation for others to express their own in the course of a conversation, which could then form part of a dialectic by which ideas are exchanged. That's how the free flow of ideas was furthered. We both took the bait. On the other hand, your suggestion in the context of the conversation that, because this is a News & Analysis forum, there is impliedly a higher barrier to expressing opinions in contrast to other areas of BigSoccer or the larger internet certainly hasn't helped the free flow of ideas. It seemed to me like an officious way of cutting off conversation by suggesting that certain opinions are against the rules.
You mean because he doesn't happen to get the money? That doesn't follow. Lots of people complain about MLS player salaries out of self interest: because they want to be seen as the kind of person who watches a league where the players make bank. If anything, Andy's sin is he's been in a ton of those conversations (as have I) and is bringing that in as something like intellectual baggage. That's glossing over it, I think. The word 'travesty' is not usually just an amplified version of 'unfortunate', it usually implies somebody getting screwed out of something they 'deserve.' For the normal sense of the word, Andy's response is perfectly appropriate. Besides, saying 'hyperbole' doesn't excuse anything anyway. Hyperbole is a gussied-up Greek word for exaggeration, and exaggeration is a gussied-up Latin word for untruth. (And for what it's worth, I suspect he meant what he said, and that you're revising his opinion to make it more amenable to reasoned debate than it actually is.) You're right that one can discuss 'I think the league would be better off if' in a N&A thread (as long as that's not the thread premise, which must involve news). That said, the free flow of ideas is a value because it is is meant to inform or edify people, it wasn't meant to make us all stupider. And I'd certainly despair of what becomes of discussion when the 'free flow of ideas' is a pretext for never getting called out on any form of ridiculousness.
And anyway, Wondo ain't exactly the guy, as a player who didn't click in this league until his mid-20s and then got skyrocketing paychecks as he's proven himself a consistent scorer, to be the poster boy for underpaid players. If there's any shame in it, it isn't what Wondo's paid now, it's what he's going to be paid a couple years down the road, because he's just about to hit an informal ceiling on what guys in this league are worth based on 'internal valuation'--ie just because they're influential in winning games. We've seen, at various times, lots of guys hit that ceiling--Shalrie Joseph, Brian Ching, Taylor Twellman, Dwayne DeRosario--and what we've seen is that unless they bring something 'external' (celebrity before they got here, staple performance with the National Team, etc), that figure is much lower than what guys get for bringing attention to the league. I figure that ceiling stands not much north of $500k at the moment.
If he does end up going to0 Germany, his minimum salary will probably be equal to and maybe even more than what he makes in the MLS and it will probably even go farther than what he is making currently. I can't comment about the Bundesliga but if its anything like how the Serie A treats their players, he will be living like a king, possibly even rent free. This coupled with his salary and the bonus money he will make for playing time as well as UEFA-CL and Europa league money, Wondo will be making a killing!
Just as a man has a right to pose an innocuous rhetorical question here on Big Soccer, a man also has the right to take himself far too serious.
Just because you disagree with an idea doesn't make it "stupider," which is a fairly low-brow descriptor in itself. Glad to hear from a moderator that people can discuss what they think on this thread as long as they stay on subject. And since the subject of this thread is Wondo, the poster who said he thinks Wondo's current compensation amounts to a "travesty" was right on point, as far as I'm concerned. That doesn't mean I agree with him, but I don't think his opinion is stupid or ridiculous. Indeed, he did a service by making me (and no doubt others) consider the fairness of Wondo's salary -- something I hadn't really contemplated beforehand. And even if I did think the travesty post was stupid or ridiculous, I would resent a moderator who suggested it should be removed from the ether as a result. So, I appreciate that you have let it stand.
"I think it's really tragic when people get serious about stuff. It's such an absurdity to take anything really seriously ... I make an honest attempt not to take anything seriously: I worked that attitude out about the time I was eighteen, I mean, what does it all mean when you get right down to it, what's the story here? Being alive is so weird." -- Frank Zappa
You really think he's going to a UEFA champions league bound team in the bundesliga? I could see him at a mid tier team, perhaps even a Europa League team, but Champions League?