Just reading ussocceruk.com's note on Hart's trade to SJ. The article mentioned that trade talks are starting to get a little more active with some teams pushing their caps. Does anyone have a sense of what are cap situation is at the moment? Assuming we are not going to be getting a marquee player, what players/positions should the team consider to round out the club and fill the bench?
When Soccer America published the MLS rosters and salaries I remember the Rapids being very close to the cap. Here is the list: Colorado PLAYER BASE GUARANTEED Spencer, John $311,273 $311,273 Powell, Darryl $230,000 $240,000 Mastroeni, Pablo $200,000 $203,750 Chung, Mark $160,000 $160,000 Henderson, Chris $147,000 $147,000 Roberts, Zizi $120,000 $145,000 Cannon, Joe $125,000 $125,000 Kotschau, Richard $60,000 $60,750 Carrieri, Chris $55,125 $55,125 Vallow, Scott $37,800 $37,800 Beckerman, Kyle $30,561 $31,811 Trembly, Seth $29,172 $30,422 Stewart, Jeff $26,460 $26,460 Kingsley, Zack $26,460 $26,460 Crawford, Matt $25,200 $25,200 Borchers, Nat $24,000 $24,000 Foss, Bryan $15,000 $15,000 Total $1,623,050.42 $1,665,050.42 I think MLS cap is $1.7M. Is this right? So there is not too much wiggle room for new players.
Lots of players that need to have a good season to justify thier pay on this team: Henderson Powell Zizi Pablo And if those four contribute proportionally ... then we'll have a fantastic year!
The Soccer America article stated that the salaries listed did not necessarily count against the cap, especially for players at the higher end of the scale. We had a discussion on this a few weeks ago in the following thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93584&highlight=salary+room My take on following the money from that thread: If you add up the currently-rostered base salaries as published by the players' union: Spencer, John $311,272.50 Powell, Darryl $229,999.92 Mastroeni, Pablo $200,000 Chung, Mark $160,000 $160,000 Henderson, Chris $147,000 Roberts, Zizi $120,000 Cannon, Joe $125,000 Kotschau, Richard $60,000 Carrieri, Chris $55,125 Vallow, Scott $37,800 Beckerman, Kyle $30,561 Stewart, Jeff $26,460 Kingsley, Zack $26,460 Crawford, Matt $25,200 Assume that Gregorio plus one other (either draftee or free agent) is signed for $25K each. As P-40 or Dev players, the salaries of Trembly ($29K), Borchers ($24K) and Foss ($15K) do not count against the cap. Similarly, the Rapids will likely sign at least one or two players to developmental contracts. TOTAL: $1.6M (approx) HOWEVER... that total is based on salaries higher than those that are counted against the cap, which stipulates a max player salary of roughly $270K. I think it would be a safe estimate to say the Rapids are hovering at roughly $1.4M that goes against the $1.7M cap. So with anywhere $200-$300K to spend, what are the Rapids looking at? Could there be a new big-salary discovery coming into the team, or perhaps a pair of league veterans each in the $100 range? In any event, it sure looks like the Rapids are trying to keep cap room open for these possibilities.
Why don't we take that 300,000$ and televise 3/4 of the road games... Ditch Trembly and his 30,000$ (there's a theft in progress!)
Greenie, you are painting a horrible picture on www.rapidsfan.com today. Do you really think a player from last season is going to have to be cut? Plus, will we be able to get any rookies? This is what I am reading into the headline, Bumping their heads?.
From what two trustworthy sources have told me, the Rapids are indeed having some very tight cap issues at the moment. Supposedly their problem isn't roster compliance but salary compliance -- in the words of one source, "the Rapids have a very hard, unenviable decision to make in the next few days." And I've since heard from a third person that indeed, many of the salaries as "published" are inaccurate. I'm hopeful that there is either a gross misunderstanding somewhere or that the Rapids feel they are bumping their heads agaianst the cap ceiling because they have a yet-to-be-named discovery they're looking to bring in for the neighborhood of $100k.
i have you guys down for a team cap of $1,604,556... accounting for a cap of $280k per player (accountable that is... anything over that doesn't count) and bonuses do count towards the cap (provided the 280k limit hasn't been reached) -jim
If that is indeed the case then the Rapids shouldn't have to worry about significant cuts. However unless you can confirm that salaries published are accurate, I've gotta go with what I've heard on the down low as these guys haven't been wrong yet. Not saying I disagree with your calculation, it's pretty much what I came up with in my previous posts -- if the financial figures presented are indeed accurate. Busting the math with the "over 280 doesn't count" rule and rounding to the nearest $1,000: Spencer, John $280 Powell, Darryl $230 Mastroeni, Pablo $200 Chung, Mark $160 Henderson, Chris $147 Roberts, Zizi $120 Cannon, Joe $125 Kotschau, Richard $60 Carrieri, Chris $55 Vallow, Scott $38 Beckerman, Kyle $31 Stewart, Jeff $26 Kingsley, Zack $26 Crawford, Matt $25 SUBTOTAL: $1,523,000 Hypothetical additions: Castellanos $25 Cann, Adrian $25 Gregorio, Adolfo $25 TOTAL: $1,598,000 (Trembly, Borchers and Foss are existing DEV players; figure the Rapids add maybe Cila and Sullivan as DEV this year)
I've been hearing that De La Torre is a solid passer and can nail people from over 40 yards. He could be another Dev player, right?
Borchers ($24K) Beckerman $31K Why is the over 30 clan getting so much money and these two starters so little. the salaries that are stated for them are still the developmental and project 40 salaries of last year.. They haven't gotten new contracts...other teams adjusted the contract for some of the older players who did not have that great of a year... case in point..Where is Roberts... Has he even reported ???
Didn't the Rapids defer some of Cannon's compensation for last year to 2004? I remember the Rapids did something like that to fit him under the 2003 cap.
Another question ... MLS doesn't renegotiate contracts until they are set to expire ... correct? I dig this practice btw. The contracts players sign aren't forced on them.
The MLS doesn't negotiate contracts unless they feel they will loose a player and they can lock them in for another 2,3,4 years what ever the deal of the day is. The problem is if the player is improving and the market is open the player will play out the contract and try to move someplace else-especially if there is no transfer fee----can you say Carlos Bocanegra(sp)