This is your invitation to say, "You know, that was some dumb shit I wrote, and I've thought better of it."
I think the league has used some expansion money to buy back shares of SUM so it was more controlled by team investor/operators. For example, in 2017 SUM repurchased Private Equity Partners ownership stake. I think it controlled 25% of the shares and it was the only outside investor into it.
And the development of infrastructure has got to be more appealing to potential players. Compare Sporting KC's, Atlanta's, or RSL's training facilities to the early years when teams were changing in trailers in parking lots.
What dumb shit did I say? I simply pointed out that the talent pool will be diluted if we keep expanding. That was my main point. Funny thing is I saw a similar post to mine in the CONCACAF forum but since it was posted by someone who relates to the Mexico forum/Mexican team, no one said shit.
Due to expansion, you can expect demand for not just good domestic players, but quality experts at all levels (coaches, GMs, trainers, refs, etc.) to outpace supply (or ability to develop players and technical experts) in the short run. This will naturally mean importing players and experts from abroad. The result of that is you've seen a decline in the % of domestic players getting minutes. I bet if you did an analysis of FOs, I'd be you see those are looking more foreign as a % well. Garber et al are banking on the long-run scenario, where supply catches up to demand. The idea here is to grow the pot of potential earnings big enough to draw the best domestic human capital away from other fields and into soccer.
You really shouldn't see a reduction in minutes for domestic players because with expansion there will be more teams for them to find minutes on. I agree you will see more foreign players, but as I said, if you add more teams then there should be the same amount or more slots open for domestic players also. I have not followed the numbers in the past but if they keep expanding at this rate I would assume they will allow more foreign players per team. Not sure if this is a number they have adjusted in the past as the league has added teams, but assume it is. Here is a very interesting article on the topic: http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...ers-face-greater-competition-for-roster-spots From 1996 to 2016 the number of US born players to play in the league went from 149 to 230. The league doubled from 10 to 20 teams. So yeah, the percentage per team went down, but the total number of US born players playing went up. So expanding should still result in more total US players getting minutes. IMO, the total number is much more important than percentage per team. More teams equals more players. Also, at the same time if you are bringing in more higher level foreign players, our domestic players are getting training and playing time with these guys. I see expansion as a way for our domestic players to get more one on one training with coaching and higher level foreign players.
I doubt it. It is really easy for foreign players that regularly make the game day roster/starting XI to get a green card. It’s another “advantage” the US teams have over the Canadian teams. As near as I can figure, there is no residency requirement for green cards for athletes, they just need a note from their employer saying they are an exceptional talent (or prove it themselves). In Canada, however, there is a 2 year residency requirement. Since most teams in MLS are in the US and f**k Canada, there is no real motivation to increase the number of foreign player spots.
I think the situation for American players is better than ever, There are more Americans playing top-flight soccer than ever before, plus they don't have to waste 6 years of their careers in academia, meaning they peak a lot sooner, for longer and make a lot more money. Circa 2006 Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie would be sophomores.