Cooper asking for "Landon Donovan money"

[DynamoRules]

I didn't see this anywhere else on here so I thought I'd post it and see if any controversy ensues.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/othernews.asp?articleID=237719

If he's right, I can think of a lot of other Dynamo players that definitely deserve Donovan Money. MLS Cup MVPs are worth that, aren't they?

[invalid]

"I want some of that internet money!"

[Onionsack]

So he wants to be a DP.

[Zoidberg]

When you look at what he has produced when healthy, and then you look at what EJ got and LD gets he has every right to ask for close.

I can see it now.

KC - Make me one of the highest paid Yanks. My numbers back me up.

MLS (with Sunil whispering in the backgraound) - It's good, but you really haven't proven yourself at nats level to earn that type of money here. There has to be more.

KC - Is it my fault your coaches and evaluators are idiots? That's something you clowns should be working on. Not me. Pay me or sell me.

MLS - You will ruin or price structure. We are gonna just let you play out your contract and let you leave. We know you are good little boy and will play hard anyway. No harm in it for us.



You're move KC. What ya gonna do? Be a good soldier or are ya gonna pull a Toja?

[superdave]

Cooper is really, really good. And his British passport makes his value a less straightforward calculation. I dunno if he's worth Landon money, but he's definitely worth DP money. The kid scores.
MLS Cup MVPs are worth that, aren't they?
God, I hope so!!

-Alecko Eskandarian and Pando Ramirez

[sidefootsitter]

Donovan and Johnson ruined their salary structure first.

Instead of signing more $1M players, they should be getting rid of those who they have.

[jlasoon]

Did anyone watch the FCB/NY game? This was embarrassing. We keep selling players and recycling sh*t, what the hell does MLS expect. PAY THE GOOD PLAYERS WHAT THEY DESERVE and maybe just maybe are league won't be mediocre at best.

[sidefootsitter]

PAY THE GOOD PLAYERS WHAT THEY DESERVE ... Out of whose pocket?

[Detective40oz]

"I want some of that internet money!"

Here is a check for $1,000,000 theoretical dollars..

[StillKickin]

Is Cooper's dad his agent? If so, he needs to take the daddy glasses off.

Sorry, Cooper hasn't done anything to warrant Landon Donovan money at this stage of his career.

Even Landon Donovan didn't get "Landon Donovan money" until AFTER he had: Starred in a World Cup, won Chevy Athlete of the year and Honda Player of the year twice, and won two MLS Cup championships, being named MVP in the second one, and scoring in both. Not to mention being one of the best, if not the best, player on the US National Team.

I think offers close to $400,000 a year from MLS is fair. But if Cooper can get more money playing in Europe...then go, because so could everyone else. LD took a paycut to come back here - he made that choice because he wanted to. As did Taylor Twellman - who has done more in MLS than Cooper.

His talk of wanting his son to get paid what he's worth - virtually nobody in MLS gets paid what they're worth due to the structure of the league. Frankly, I think it's an insult to the players who have founded MLS and who have played here years for Cooper and/or his dad to have this attitude.

Yes, the dude deserves a pay raise (as does virtually everyone in the league), but more in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, not Landon Donovan range.

And yes, I know I'm in the minority here.

[Revolt]

Out of whose pocket?

Do we really need to start reciting the list of new/expanded revenue sources? Like $10 million for Jozy, $15 million/year from Adidas, $20 million a year from national TV contracts. I could go on...

The bottom line is MLS is caught in a tough situation. They want to bargain hard for the next CBA, yet worldwide salaries continue to jump up, and the dollar is weak. And everyone knows MLS is bringing in a lot more money than they used to.

[cpwilson80]

"I want some of that internet money!"

With the way he's playing, Cooper should get his own internet.

[Revolt]

And yes, I know I'm in the minority here.

Thank goodness. Your argument seems based on a fairly static MLS salary situation.

[ElJefe]

Thank goodness. Your argument seems based on a fairly static MLS salary situation.

...and a history of ardent Landon Donovan apologia.

[MtMike]

Landon Donovan money? No.

Taylor Twellman money? Yes.

[cpwilson80]

Frankly, I think it's an insult to the players who have founded MLS and who have played here years for Cooper and/or his dad to have this attitude.

Yes, the dude deserves a pay raise (as does virtually everyone in the league), but more in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, not Landon Donovan range.

And yes, I know I'm in the minority here.

Yes, Ante Razov is pissed off right now ;)

You could make an argument that Donovan's salary should really only compensate his MLS performance. For example, Chelsea doesn't play Ballack $8-12 Mil a year to score goals for Germany.

With that in mind, his US performances are an indicator that he's a great player, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's helping the Galaxy. I checked out MLSnet, and was surprised to see that last season was the first time Donovan played 25 regular season games for either LA or San Jose.

[StillKickin]

...and a history of ardent Landon Donovan apologia.

My argument has got nothing to do with my being a fan of Landon Donovan. I'd be saying this, if it were Eddie Johnson money he was asking for. Because it's the same thing: everyone complained about EJ getting his money after what little he had done. It's the same with Cooper - it's all on potential.**

But Revolt, you do have a point that I hadn't thought of, that of a static MLS salary situation. I guess the players do need a stance such as what Kenny Cooper is doing in order to push the envelope. So I'll probably have to revise my thinking on this.

**course, all contracts are negotiated on potential anyway....but somewhat based upon what you've already accomplished, I would think.

[sidefootsitter]

Do we really need to start reciting the list of new/expanded revenue sources? Like $10 million for Jozy, $15 million/year from Adidas, $20 million a year from national TV contracts. I could go on... You could but it won't mean a thing.

The league is based on having ~ $3M factual payrolls.

For that amount, they need to have about 20 decent players.

That comes out to ~ $150K per player.

Anything over $400K per top players and you're getting into the Galz situation, where you have 3-4 decent players and the rest USL-2 quality.

The simple solution, as it's always been, is to sell and re-invest.

As the feasible/reasonable cap number goes up, the maximum acceptable salaries should go up correspondingly.

Once the cap reaches $8M or so, you can start paying your top players close to $1M.

Until then, sell and move on.

[cpwilson80]

Landon Donovan money? No.

Taylor Twellman money? Yes.

I think this is fair in MLS world (I sketched out a rough tiers of MLS players here (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15296941&postcount=75)), but I think Cooper is a slightly different case with the Euro passport, youth, potential, and actual interest from Euro clubs.

[StillKickin]

You could make an argument that Donovan's salary should really only compensate his MLS performance. For example, Chelsea doesn't play Ballack $8-12 Mil a year to score goals for Germany.

With that in mind, his US performances are an indicator that he's a great player, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's helping the Galaxy. I checked out MLSnet, and was surprised to see that last season was the first time Donovan played 25 regular season games for either LA or San Jose.

Fine, go with that. At the time he signed his contract, Landon had won Honda Player of the Year twice ( which does include MLS play in its criterion) as well as he had won 2 championships and was the leading goal scorer (or tied with Ruiz for leading goal scorer) in playoff history.

But Kenny Cooper has had a solid year. Again, I equate it to the Eddie Johnson situation. MLS messed up with that one - are they going to be willing to try it again with Kenny Cooper? Although, Kenny would be a safer bet.