First off thanks for kicking this off and nice job. Now let me give some input. 1. As noted above only the 18 "Senior" roster spots are included in the salary cap and GA's are not included on the senior roster. Therefore Igwe, Valentino and all those guys making minimum wage can be discarded for this purpose. 2. I believe that only the base salary is used for the cap figure. I say this for two reasons. One, when they announced that the cap had been increased to 2.3M they also stated that 125K could be used for acquiring players and for bonus'. Two, I think that TnT's bonus came from part of the Dempsey money and that his cap number is therefore $325,000. http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2007/12/03/story25.html 3. The minimum for this year has risen to $33,000 per the Collective Bargaining Agreement. (pg 19) http://www.mlsplayers.org/resources.html 4. When Joseph and Heaps re-signed late last year it was mentioned that they did it then so that they could use the extra cap money that they did not spend to pay down the future cap numbers. My guess is that when the new numbers come out they will have high bonus amount in them. http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/10/19/heaps_joseph_re_up/ 5. Chris Albright stated that before he was traded he restructured his contract with LA to help them with the cap so I'd bet that his number will come down slightly. http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=25299 6. Michael Parkhurst's salary goes up every year about 15-20K if my memory is correct so I would think that it would again this year. A lot of this is small bananas but by taking out Igwe, the 5 returning players, 4 Superdraft picks and the 4 supplemental picks you add 275K to the pot so you may have 800K and maybe as much as 1 million to sign 4 or 5 players. There is certainly no monetary excuse for the REV's to sign some quality first teamer's. Again thanks for doing all of the upfront work.
Only $400k would count, but again ... I'd make a huge bet that there's no way in hell DC would trade him to us.
I have to think Dave Kasper and Tom Soehn would sooner cut off their own leg with a rusty spoon than trade Christian Gomez to New England.
You have to start with the premise that they can't keep him. Given that he is under contract, they are in a tough situation. If that's the case, then where does he go? Who has the cap room to take him? Even if they trade him for Pablo and picks/cash, they'll never get equal value, because Colorado knows they have to deal. He was MLS best 11 in 2005, league MVP in 2006, and has been an all-star the last three years, so when you say he's not that good, what do you mean? Compared to whom?
I think this is a pretty unique situation for the team. I would think they would make a really hard push to get it done. After all, in the whole scheme of the salary cap and salary money we've freed up, it's not that much money. Because he's not really a 2nd rounder. Had he expressed an interest in MLS, he probably would have been a top 5 pick, or close to it. And, none of that really matters. What matters is leverage and the factors involved in that are the Revs needs (on the field and the gate/media factor with a local player) and Videira's euro passport. Those are realities that help determine what he needs to be offered. The Revs can't go ahead an draft him and then pretend he doesn't have significant other options. The Revs know they need significant signings - here's one they can do for probably a lot less than an international player - and it would help reverse the negative PR and sell tickets. FWIW, I don't think either one is a good comparison. Dorman's salary is always going to look ridiculously low because he refused the renegotiation offers. And Larentowicz was a minimal prospect when he signed - whenever he signs a new contract, he'll be making significantly more. He was still just a okay player when last season started - he's much more than that now. I think the feeling is mutual. Probably the only thing the Revs could offer would be allocation money, draft picks or cap space. They would hate to give that to a team that is pretty good at finding foreign talent.
The conspiracy theorist in me hopes that the Revs and Videria came to an agreement before the draft and he made those statements to scare off the other MLS clubs so he would fall in the draft to the Revs...And they are delaying the announcement to make it look like we're struggling to come to terms!! Local boy gets to play near home....Revs get their guy without having to trade up....Everyone's happy!! no chance right?
I think Videira is being a bit of an egotist in this situation, choosing the more expensive and flashy route, and though I don't have enough objective information about his level of talent to make a full judgement, I feel he's not ready for the big game. I mean think about it, he could sign a two year deal with MLS, if he impresses, a team overseas will be interested. If not, what's the worst that happens? He's stuck playing soccer professionally. I feel rejecting MLS is the wrong move for him, and history may be repeating itself in the cases of Tony Lochhead, Shalrie Joseph, or any of the other Revs draftees who tried to make it overseas too early in their career. Just my two cents.
Exactly right - remember MLS tried to get him every year since his freshman year and he never came out. Nice try, the only way Mike plays for the Revs is if his Euro-trials fail. But Mike actually holds all the cards because he is not under the gun to rush to a decision. He can shop himself around, make sure his injury has fully healed, etc. Being the player he is, on a FREE, and with an EU passport, I would be surprised if he did not find the right deal in Europe. But, stranger things have happened. In this case, your two cents are not spent wisely. First MLS won't sign him to a 2year deal. And using TL and SJ has examples are not good, becuase neither held an EU passport. That is HUGE if you want to play somewhere in Europe. And Mike is more than ready for the professional game. That is not being an eogist - that is being an athlete (and a smart one at that) - anyone notice Mike was a multi All-American Academic team winner?
What?? I may be wrong(it happens once a year or so!) but I believe all rookies in MLS sign a 5 year deal....actually (5) 1 year club options.... If I was a player coming out of college with any possibility of playing in Europe I don't think I'd sign with MLS....unless it was ADU money!
Regarding the contract (5 year?), I think MLS need to re-evaluate their policy. As the talent level increases in the college game, more and more players will want to pursue options overseas. A brief stint in MLS is a lot more appealing than five years. For me personally, it's more about playing time than money. Perhaps that mindset is what's preventing me from accepting Videira's (and others) situation when choosing a club overseas rather than MLS. As I said, I don't have enough information to judge what caliber of player he is, but I've heard nothing about big clubs interested in him (by big clubs I mean Championship range and higher). I'll wait it out and see what he chooses, but I don't think it's the right decision, and that's not the Revs supporter in me.
I think you're exactly right... We all know know the Revs like to gamble.(Noonan) I think they took a gamble with their second round pick on a player that would/should have been top 5...knowing he's going to Europe....And HOPING he fails! If Mike goes to Europe this year, how long will the Revs "own" his MLS rights??
Nat Borchers' rights are still held by Colorado, so that's at least two years. It's the only case I can think of. I believe San Jose have Ramiro Coralles' rights as well.
Different situation -- they both played in MLS before leaving. And it's actually Houston who hold Corrales' rights, I believe.
My assumption was that if a player is drafted, their rights are held by that club in MLS. Let me try and find what MLS have to say on the matter. [EDIT] A player who was drafted by a particular team through the SuperDraft or Supplemental Draft and did not sign with the League, is placed on that team's "College Protected List" until the second December 31 immediately following the draft in question, after which the team loses the rights to the player.
What I'm saying is, your examples both signed and played for the league, so it's not the same situation as the one we're in with Videira.
I understand what you said, I posted what MLS' official rules are in my edit, seems we've got until Dec. 31 and their rights are gone.
A player who was drafted by a particular team through the SuperDraft or Supplemental Draft and did not sign with the League, is placed on that team's "College Protected List" until the second December 31 immediately following the draft in question, after which the team loses the rights to the player.