https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...rease-targeted-allocation-money-2018-and-2019 Merry Christmas everyone! MLS gets new $$$ infusion that matches almost 50% of the team's current salary. Crazy money. So, what do you do with it? Start warming up that spending spree shopping cart and go get em'.
I'll go first: Our current DPs are Yura, Savorino, and Rusnak. But two of them aren't HIGH paid DP players as far as designated players go. Savorino makes an even $1,000,000 this season per the terms of the buyout to my knowledge. Rusnak made $825,000 last season. So, the first thing I do is I spend a cool $800,000 to buy down BOTH of my DPs. Then I pick up Joquera $1 millionish and another young DP level player around $700,000. Yura is still sitting there, but I don't feel quite as rushed to dump him because I just went from 2 DPs to 4 DPs on the roster to support my team. Still, if I can dump him then I still have 1 more DP slot remaining. That leaves me with $300,000 in Tam to go with the money we have from not making the playoffs ($200,000) and the $$$ from the 2017 exits and expiring contracts. Remember about 30% of the roster (Schuler, Schmidt, Dunk, Rimando, Beckerman, Holness, Barrett, Velazco, Maund, Lennon, Van Oekel, and Wingert) was released or not under contract. That totals around $2.3 million and added to the $500,000 I have left from above, it's an additional $2.8 million to shore up the rest of the team with depth not including relief space for Beltran if I want. I would use that additional $2.8 million to bring in MLS talent to compete for the right back position. Then I try to resign Lennon, Beckerman, Rimando, a back up keeper, Herrera, and fill in the depth a bit. I graduate a player or two from the Monarchs (Rufio), and then I probably STILL have enough money to add a DP player at midseason if I figure out the Yura situation. NEAT! That was fun!
As with so many other issues, it depends on how much Dell Loy wants to spend. This doesn't increase the amount of money that can be spent on the roster. It increases the number of players ownership can spend on. Has Dell Loy been chomping at the bit to spend more on players until now? We don't really know how much he's currently spending on players, but it's probably in the vicinity of $3 million or so a year (we don't know how much Yura's buyout was, or Jefferson's, and we only have rumors about Rusnak's fee). So can we safely assume he'll just double his investment in player salaries? IDK.
RSL’s salaries last year totaled just shy of $6 million, and right around league average. So to date, DLH has spent a solid amount in comparison to the league considering we’re in the smallest market (though not the least profitable team). It will be interesting to see what he wants to do with this opportunity.
I'm not thrilled quite yet. This move by the league destroys parity, and so far RSL has been one of the teams that benefits from parity. RSL hasn't been competitive for a while so I really hope DLH is willing to spend here. It's very exciting for the league though.
don't use logic here. so correct me if I am wrong but we use this 'money' to buy down a contract and not use a DP slot.
I want to give a thumbs up for the thread. I have never invested time into learning the financial aspects of MLS and depend on you folks for getting a bit of a perspective. Thank you!
Calling SLC the smallest market requires excluding Davis, Weber, and Utah Counties. Having lived in Provo when the team played at Rice-Eccles and Layton after Rio Tonto opened, I disagree with that metric. Using definitions that include those areas (primary statistical area or media market) means it's slightly larger than Columbus and KC. Sacramento is about this size as well, while Cincinnati, Austin, and Nashville are somewhat smaller. Vancouver is slightly larger. While RSL is a small market club, calling it the smallest isn't quite accurate.
Yup, 100%. It’s really strange how you see these statistical areas that breakout Ogden or Provo, it’s all the metro area. If you look at McKinney Texas all the way down to Burleson Texas they’re 71 miles apart and both considered part of the DFW metroplex. We’re bigger than KC and almost bigger than Portland at roughly 2.6M residents up and down.
Cool, I thought with the whole combined wasatch front that SLC was the smallest, it’s cool if that’s not the case. I’ve always found it weird to see Clearfield/Ogden as it’s own area in different things... especially as how Clearfield isn’t even a notable city outside of having the Freeport Center.
Still among the smallest, of course. Within 10% of two others means there's no practical difference. And Vancouver is only ~15% larger. At that point, variation in business results depends almost completely on factors apart from market size: competition with other local sports, municipal and corporate support, ownership interest, front office competence, on-field performance. The advantage of a small market is less clutter to break through to attract discretionary spending, but the upside of a large market is its much higher ceiling. I can't imagine RSL ever drawing a crowd over 70,000, even if such a venue existed in the area, but it's also really tough to have operating losses of $9M here.
Well, to be perfectly honest, we are the smallest market (and that includes the whole Wasatch front). We are the 34th ranked TV market (that's what counts here). Columbus is 32 and KC is 33. Now, if we are going with metro areas, we would have to use the CSA (Combined Statistical Area) and with that number, we are 26, which puts us just ahead of KC at 27 and Columbus at 28. I'm a total numbers nerd when it comes to cities and metros...
Regardless of the small market feel of our team, DLH has been willing to spend money. See Yura, Savorino, and the fact that we are about middle of the pack in spending. I recently read an article about how he doesn't plan to pull money out of the club ever and that money is not an issue for our club. Reading between the lines, DLH seems more willing to make smart investments that make the team better than to buyout Yura IMHO. The proper use of TAM to take Savorino and Rusnak below the DP status makes our team more competitive and flexible right off the bat by freeing up two DP spots! If DLH likes the Petke movement and if he is true to his word about money not being an issue then this seems like a no brainer.
Money is definitely an issue. He could have spent $15 million on DPs like Toronto, and he didn't. I don't blame him of course - it's his money, not mine. And as a quick reminder, when we talk about MLS owners spending, we're just talking about DPs, not the whole roster. Our DP spending is fairly average, and lower than some teams you don't typically think of as ambitious (Colorado, Vancouver). I just don't think we can assume that Dell Loy will spend the whole amount.
Give the money. I will find some way to spend it that doesn't involve anything like contracts, stadiums, academies, etc., but which will ultimately benefit RSL fans (namely me, myself and I). I think I'll buy myself a fur-lined sink or two. Cats rule!!
I’d argue that DLH has spent more on RSL since he took full control than just about the rest of the league. His dropping what turned out to be $75 million on a training facility matches Toronto’s DP spending for what, 5 years? I’d say he’s willing to put up money. On the flip side, DLH is a business man, more specifically a real estate guy. He’s going to always look to invest his money where he feels it will hold its value or create a better return as a priority. So building these training centers makes a lot of sense. He believes they will end up paying for themselves, and they’ve already added to the overall value of the organization better than spending $5 mil a year on a midfielder for 3 years would ever do. Honestly, RSL will likely always lead the league in infustructure overall so long as he’s the owner. It’s who he is. I mean, we had the biggest TV at our stadium for a few weeks until LAG got offended by being behind us at something. I will state the DLH hasn’t shy’d away from spending on the first team roster the way small teams have. RSL has been a solid middle of the road spender and has nearly always used their full DP allotment as well as pushed the budget to the limit which sadly led to guys like Borchers having to leave. There is no evidence YET that he won’t spend this new money. The guy wants to win. He’s prideful and loves the club. He cares. I expect we see RSL spend the money this year, though you might not see Movsysian go AND the money spent... unless it’s used to accomplish the other. On a final note. Just throwing money around doesn’t always pay off. I’d take spending ~$1 million on a Savarino/Rusnak than ~$5 million on a Pirlo/Gerrard. Smart spending > big spending sometimes. But it’s still spending either way. What matters at the end of the day are the results.
Given what DLH is worth, this is clearly more of a passion project. He's not going to make bank on RSL. This is purely something he's doing for fun. And that's fine. It also means he's probably more likely to splash some cash here and there on DP's. With all the infrastructure he's building, it's understandable that what we spend on DP's isn't all that high currently. But down the road, I could see him spending more once he's done with the academies. He doesn't seem like he'd shy away from spending ~$5 mil on a player if he looks like he'll be worth it.
Eh, I think that's a bit unfair. RSL isn't getting Michael Bradley or Jozy Altidore or Giovinco. The league wants those players in the bigger markets (there is no arguing Toronto is bigger than SLC). Further, it's not a matter of just throwing a number at these players and they go to the top bidder. In order to convince Gio to play in SLC instead of Toronto, we're likely going to have to pay EVEN MORE.
Um I actually see the academies as his way out of spending on DP's. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but he's setting up a system that would make this club profitable through your traditional soccer standards: selling young talent. The trajectory of this club is very similar, IMO, to that of a Southampton.
I wonder, actually, how much the league wants those huge-name DPs in Toronto, as opposed to New York, LA, or maybe Chicago. While Toronto is one of the larger cities in the league, it's not in the US, and probably doesn't build the TV audience like a high-quality Galaxy or NYCFC team does. Not to argue with your point--the league couldn't care less who plays here.
It's not like the NY/LA/Chicago teams don't spend big money. Toronto is right be hind them http://www.canadatvmedia.com/canadian-television/statistics.html Top TV Markets in North America Toronto is the 5th largest market in North America Toronto represents almost 22% of Canada's total population The big miss here from a league perspective seems to be Philly, Dallas, and San Jose. Granted, those teams aren't housed in the big part of those cities. They're very much on the periphery of each. It's why ATL can look SOOOO much bigger than them despite being in markets essentially the same size. Location is everything
No disagreement. Just idle speculation that really great teams with really great players in Toronto might be much less valuable than similar teams in similar-sized US cities.
I'm sure that's how he sees it as well, but will it be profitable in his lifetime? Right now, it seems like he's doing the right things to give us a good future, while most likely not turning a great profit in the process. He's got all the money he needs, so it seems like he's doing this more because he fell in love with soccer. It's why I could see him spending 5-10 million on a DP if it looked to be the right fit for the club. At the very least, we've been seeing some dividends already from AZ, so having an even bigger academy footprint should help in those regards. And as much as I like the idea of a big DP for the club, I'd honestly be just as fine to see a bunch of homegrown talent tearing up the league.
Can any on here that understands MLS roster rules explain how Atlanta has 12 international spots why we cry poverty with 7? See attached.