beineke
08 Jan 2004, 12:20 PM
As most of you know, an early version of 2004 MLS salaries can be found here:
http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562134198
Right now, not many MLS players get paid for their marketability instead of their performance. Hong Myung-Bo (making nearly $300K) is the clearest example of one, although a few US national teamers also have surprisingly cushy deals.
High-cost, moderate-production players are most often sent to the biggest markets. After all, those are the places where being recognized is expected to yield an impact. We saw it with guys like Matthaeus, Campos, and Luis Hernandez, as well as Etcheverry, once he got old.
Why is this interesting? Well, MLS often gets accused of stacking the deck in favor of the big teams (and maybe it does in some other ways, such as allowing Ruiz to get part of his salary from his Guatemalan club). But when a team is forced to use one-sixth of its salary budget on a run-of-the-mill player, that has a real impact on its competitiveness.
At the opposite end of the payroll, the MLS Development Player program also tends to make it easier for smaller market teams. They can afford to bring in a few extra prospects, since it's actually possible to survive on $1 K/month in Columbus or Kansas City.
Rather than evening things out, MLS's salary structure seems to put big markets at a disadvantage.
http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562134198
Right now, not many MLS players get paid for their marketability instead of their performance. Hong Myung-Bo (making nearly $300K) is the clearest example of one, although a few US national teamers also have surprisingly cushy deals.
High-cost, moderate-production players are most often sent to the biggest markets. After all, those are the places where being recognized is expected to yield an impact. We saw it with guys like Matthaeus, Campos, and Luis Hernandez, as well as Etcheverry, once he got old.
Why is this interesting? Well, MLS often gets accused of stacking the deck in favor of the big teams (and maybe it does in some other ways, such as allowing Ruiz to get part of his salary from his Guatemalan club). But when a team is forced to use one-sixth of its salary budget on a run-of-the-mill player, that has a real impact on its competitiveness.
At the opposite end of the payroll, the MLS Development Player program also tends to make it easier for smaller market teams. They can afford to bring in a few extra prospects, since it's actually possible to survive on $1 K/month in Columbus or Kansas City.
Rather than evening things out, MLS's salary structure seems to put big markets at a disadvantage.