Pugh

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by Mississippi Flash, Feb 22, 2016.

  1. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    So here r the to paths Pugh could take.

    1- go to college as an amateur- receive a free education- play college soccer - continue to get call up to the NT so she will miss school and soccer time - miss school time for college soccer
    2- go to college as a professional - receive 6 figure salary plus bonuses and pay for ur own education - miss school and pro soccer for NT call ups - miss school for pro soccer
     
  2. upprv

    upprv Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Or
    3) UCLA usually pays for their student athletes who turn pro to finish their degree. She could enroll after the new year, play spring soccer and fall soccer as her schedule allows and then turn pro while remaining in school. Get pro money and her education paid for.
     
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  3. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    I like that policy
     
  4. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oops.
     
  5. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    i'm waiting for this to become...

    never mind, she's turning pro.

    how binding is that ucla"contract"?

    there's a lot of cash going by the wayside.
     
  6. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    Right now Pugh isn't filling a slot with USSF as a paid player. If she had initially foregone college, there was the potential for that and that could have left her off the team.
     
  7. WWC_Movement

    WWC_Movement Red Card

    Dec 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Papua New Guinea
    Pugh does want to play with Sanchez at UCLA in 2017, but it does get to the point that Pugh and Sanchez could be playing full time together for the USWNT by then.
     
  8. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    i've heard this conspiracy before....

    not a chance they'd leave the best talent in decades off the team because they didn't want to pay her.
     
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  9. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    I think she sealed up a USWNT contract at CONCACAF OQ if she had wanted it. She went from novelty to regular starter on a team that won the WC in about a month.
     
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  10. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    She signed her letter of intent before Olympic Qualifying.

    There are limited available spots on the team for non-contracted players. That's the reality of the team based on the CBA. I would not be surprised if that was a large factor in why Dunn did not make the World Cup roster. I'm not insisting there is a conspiracy for her to be left off of the team, but I would not be surprised if US soccer made sure she understood the pecking order. It was already known she was unlikely to play in collegiate soccer in the Fall due to likely commitments. She had a good January camp (during which she turned down a pro contract) and she has proven herself to be ready for the Senior team since.
     
  11. Glove Stinks

    Glove Stinks Member+

    Jan 20, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    She wont ever don a UCLA kit. In less than a month she will be the face of US Soccer. She will take the multi million dollar Nike contract and wait til Jauary to sign her deal with US Soccer. Curious to hear if she turns pro before the Olympics if she gets the bonus money for amedal and the money for the victory tour should they win
     
  12. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    Must be wonderful to be a talented young person and have all this help deciding what you should do...
     
  13. Gilmoy

    Gilmoy Member+

    Jun 14, 2005
    Pullman, Washington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We live vicariously through the young. It's like playing an FPS or roguelike.

    Keep that extra studded leather armor in your backpack for the rust monster levels :D
     
  14. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For some reason I don't think she's reading this thread.
     
  15. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders

    Not sure why u mentioned the letter of intent. Im sure if u swing by Chapel Hill Anson Dorrance still has Lindsey Horan's letter on file.

    Not sure there anything in the CBA about having to get called in. You get a one year contract and they honor it but it doesnt mean u'll make rosters. Now Im sure the USSF likes to have the players making guaranteed money actual earning it on the field but they r never going to deny the coach a quality player. I also dont see USSoccer stepping on Pugh's chances because if it works out it's a great story and USSoccer is very conscious of marketing. As to the timing of the announcement Im sure Pugh simply waited until she made the Olympic roster before changing her Fall plans.
     
  16. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    If you mean not attending school, I agree. If you mean not playing in the Fall, I disagree.
     
  17. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Oh, I misunderstood. There is no doubt in my mind Pugh planned to go to UCLA and I also wouldnt be surprised that the coaching staff r more than pleased when 16 yo players happens to commit to the school Ellis and Snow happened to coach at. But after Pugh exploded onto the scene at CONCACAF and SBC I think USSoccer was just as happy to have her turn pro and be developed in a pro environment when she wasnt with the NT. There seems to be a history of give and take on the CBA between the USSF and union as opposed skirmishes.
     
  18. kernel_thai

    kernel_thai Member+

    Oct 24, 2012
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
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  19. WWC_Movement

    WWC_Movement Red Card

    Dec 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Papua New Guinea
    Mallory Pugh's financial situation has also changed.
    Originally, it was $200,000 - $250,000 that was virtually guaranteed (including endorsements) if she chose to go the professional route, and then backed off because the variable income was more volatile and the fixed (guaranteed) income went down. It became more of a gamble, high risk - high reward decision, so that influenced the decision making for her and her family. UCLA it is, UCLA it was, at that point.

    Now the stakes have changed a bit.
    It appears that she can now get in excess of $300,000 in guaranteed pay (including endorsements).
    Of course, anything over $500,000 would have been a no-brainer, and UCLA would have been off the table.
    Anything in the millions and they would be tearing up college envelopes and playing prank phone calls with college coaches, including UCLA's, to ensure they leave her the heck alone. :D

    But $300,000+ ???
    That's the current guaranteed portion. It would be up to her to sustain her play, stay on the national team year after year, continue to earn more endorsements, and make even more cheddar as time goes by.

    She's the phenom, the "young" up and coming soccer player, that every young girl in America today can aspire to be.

    If that guaranteed dollar amount continues to go up, it's almost certain she'll never enroll at UCLA (or any school).
    Not until her professional/international soccer career is over.

    She can always go back and get her college degree at age 35, or whenever.
     
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  20. Glove Stinks

    Glove Stinks Member+

    Jan 20, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    I am actually surprised this hasn't come sooner. NBC is going to make her one of the "Olympic Sweethearts". She is young, cute and a Phenominal Talent. Anyone remember what Nike threw at Michelle Wie? I get that womens soccer isn't womens golf, but if she plays remotely well and the US wins gold, she is staring down a 7 figure contract
     
  21. WWC_Movement

    WWC_Movement Red Card

    Dec 10, 2014
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Papua New Guinea
    And only one person in the US will be crying over it.

    Amanda Cromwell
     
  22. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    This is a great post, in that it frames the whole thing in terms of the choices involved without being framed as "what she should/must do."

    But it still makes me think "a cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

    There's every reason to think she is quite capable of making her own decisions. Maybe she just wants to go to UCLA or something.

    We get to watch, we get to see how it comes out-- maybe we can save the post mortem till after it all dies down?
     
  23. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The NCAA changed the rules about the Olympic bonus. An athlete can accept the USOC money without jeopardizing her eligibility. Not the rest of the bonus money, however.
     
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  24. Glove Stinks

    Glove Stinks Member+

    Jan 20, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Interesting...did not know that. Great info, thanks for sharing
     
  25. Gilmoy

    Gilmoy Member+

    Jun 14, 2005
    Pullman, Washington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is only the $25k/$15k/$10k for a gold/silver/bronze that the USOC awards to every medal-winner. Yes, the NCAA explicitly permits this, as it is not considered a "pro" salary, and it's a PR win-win for them to jointly brag that their student-athletes can dream the same dream. Obviously, $25k comes far short of actually recompensating you for the grind of preparation, but that's ok, as it's only meant to be a bonus on top of your other income streams. It appears to be taxed as normal income, so you don't even keep all of it.

    Hence, kids like Missy Franklin (Cal) and Katie Ledecky (Stanford this fall) could take many, many :D of those $25k units, and still retain eligibility. And USA mbb always has the one "token college kid" ;) (Anthony Davis in London '12) to fill out the squad (and almost always win gold).

    In 2004, Colorado mfb kick returner Jeremy Bloom accepted $ as a pro moguls skier to stay in contention for Turin '06, then appealed to NCAA to reinstate as an amateur in gridiron football, arguing that the two endeavors were disjoint. NCAA ruled against him, which ended his eligibility (he would have been a junior). He did qualify for Turin '06, then played in the NFL, and is in the US Skiing HoF. Some time after that ruling, NCAA changed their rules to make pro status sport-specific, i.e. taking $ in sport A makes you pro in sport A, but doesn't affect amateur status in all sports ~A. It must have been a PR disaster for them.
     
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