There is a school of thought that says the BasicLeague Resources of $11.83m will not allow clubs to build squads able to compete for top 4. Theory is that clubs are forced to develop and sell players in order to compete. Part of the argument for bigger budgets.
Question: The Teran sale is to be turned into GAM for this season. Are we allowed to delay the Guti money to 2027 for example?
It’s not clear to me when the cutover dates are for ‘season’, nor if when the Guti money arrives matters…so it’s possible the Teran and Guti money are ‘in different seasons’. It does seem like the other way to use it is in trade with another club for one of their players…kinda like the GAM we gave up for Waterman, but it’s cash that is valuable to the other club because they can convert it. Usage of Revenue The club's share of transfer revenue may only be used as follows: A club may assign a maximum of $3,000,000 of transfer, loan revenue as General Allocation Money per season. GAM earned through player transfers can be applied in the current or future seasons. The above limits also include amounts clubs receive in Cash for Player trades. The remaining balance of the club's share (if any), and which cannot be traded, will be distributed by the League to the club as cash. In January new 'cash rules' were declared: Cash for player trades MLS clubs may now use an unlimited amount of out-of-pocket funds (cash) to trade for players, allowing MLS clubs to acquire talent from within the league without having to use General Allocation Money (GAM) or other assets (such as SuperDraft selections or International Roster Spots). The update creates additional opportunities for top talent to remain within MLS, while creating another pathway for MLS clubs to generate significant revenue on player movements and further incentivizes player development. Parameters Clubs will be allowed to acquire up to two players and trade away up to two players, per year for cash. Similar to transfer fees, clubs may convert revenue generated by these trades to General Allocation Money. Cash spent to acquire a player via trade will be applied to the player’s Salary Budget charge. When utilizing cash to acquire a player via trade, no other forms of compensation may be included in the trade terms.
IF we can't convert 4mil of the Guti money (and use a meaningful amount of it to trade for a player) it would need to be for a DP (or a U22) because of the amount having to be applied to their salary budget charge.
Lots of things are unclear to me but fairly certain of two things-1) the end of year for generating Sales GAM is the end of the Mid-season Transfer Window or roughly Sept. 1. Perhaps that is why they carefully announced that the Teran Sales GAM was available for 2026 and 2) only the 2+4 Option GAM must be used in the period it is earned. All other GAM is now able to be used in current or future years (as of 2025) Based upon normally reliable sources and the “ public” rules, I believe these 2 things to be correct but would welcome confirmation. There are a number of other good questions raised in preceding posts. Depending upon those answers, there may be additional avenues available important to remember only $3 million max per team per year And only only $3 million max per player, including any sell-on gains. So Guti would max out at $3 million- about $1 million in 2026 and ( probably) $2 million in 2027. I think.
Cleaned up some sketchy business from the Heitz era. Koutsias had every chance to carve out a niche here, but wasn't up to it. I don't think Lugano are at all happy with taking him on permanently. They have a lot of trouble scoring this year. Bottani is washed and Steffen is getting there. They've never replaced Zan Celar's production after they sold him 2 summers ago.
Interesting comment. Maybe just a temporary home for him. Fire paid about $2.5 or $3.0 million for him ( I forget) which is his current value according to Transfermarkt. Of course, most of that fee should be amortized by now. Wonder what the transfer fee to Lugano was?
Really. There was some chatter that Fire loan was able to get MLS approval because other Euro clubs had “ tossed out” some value numbers. Per MLSPA Salary Guide, his Total Comp was only about $470k. He had one year left on his Fire contract but a translated article from Lugano mentioned a 2.5 year contract but it did not specify if new contract was with Fire or with Lugano.
Old Coach- new MIR Roster Tracker with Dean and Oregel on Senior Roster means we need to “guess” their new salaries and include them on your spreadsheet. Also means fewer open Senior Roster slots and fewer Available Resources. If it turns out that a high-quality CAM is the only additional acquisition this window, I would not be that disappointed. The Fire would potentially have a very competitive squad and more time to evaluate players before mid-season transfer window.
Another excellent article by Tim H at MIR97 today discussing Fire roster/ budget status. Definitely worth reading.
Old Coach- thinking about $175,000 each as a reasonable guess for Oregel and Dean on their new (Senior Roster) contracts. Just an guess. Available Resources no. on my “ spreadsheet” is now $1,315,062 ( see posting #347) and the Senior Roster has 19 players. Minimum roster for budget purposes is 18. General- The idea of Salah acquisition could simplify acquisiton puzzle for GGG and crew, Salah as BigDP at right winger and shifting Zinck to CAM, assuming he is good there, would be an even more potent attack. Odds of either Lew or Salah acquisition probably equally low. Salah acquisition would raise total of international slots needed to 5. Most logical possible green card candidates would be Cuypers and Glasgow because they have been here the longest. (Ruling out MHS because he is Swiss). Perhaps a loan? Senior Roster spots could also be a problem depending on how many additional acquisitions are contemplated. Once again- loans? Enough spots and Available Resources for Salah and midTAM backup ST but additional “ clear out” activity would be necessary for any other possibilities mentioned. Still assuming fully departed Acosta in my comments.
https://x.com/sing_electric/status/2004645392034791487 The Lod signing appears to bring us to a crossroad... Forces one more decent size sale/move out to be able to add Lewy (or any DP) in July.
There’s apparently no cap benefit to buying him out early so there may be negative consequences for not keeping him around. The best option is to find a home for him and gain some value in return, not a buyout.
Yes, if he is fully healthy and motivated he could be helpful. Sure, he will NEVER justify his cost, but 1) If he helps us win, awesome. 2) If his salary does not hurt us, fine (and we get no benefit from an early buyout), fine. I believe Berhalter and Joe M will do what is best for the team overall.
There's no negative consequence to buying him out early. Teams usually wait as long as they can, because they hope a team cracks and trades for the player. The Fire don't need to do other teams a favor by letting them get their guy for the entire pre-season without giving something up
Remember when MLS teams struggled to have a solid starting XI and one or two more starting caliber players, before the steep drop off of talent for the rest of the squads, working with a $1.25 mil cap ('96) which grew by 10's of thousands of dollars annually? These are goods problems we're dealing with these days.
NOPE! The Fire had an amazing staring 11 in 1998. Great in 1999. Amazing in 2000 F*ck the teams that could not figure it out back then! Well, f*ck all the other MLS teams back then! Definitely better these days!!!!
Maybe we need an international slot or something. That or some GAM. Buying him out loses these opportunities and makes him immediately available to another team. Exactly what you say you want to avoid. Waiting to buy him out might be the best option if no value is available on the market. That was my point.
I agree, no need to rush buying him out. He can sign with his new club on the day MLS rosters lock in, if no one wants to give up an asset.
Budget Resources Update.-I have reviewed all the assumptions I have been using in my version of Fire Salary Budget spreadsheet and made a couple changes. 1) Lewandowski-More likely than before but not until June. Reduces need for backup ST slightly. Budget Charge already in prior version. Allows 2 DP + 4 U22 Option until June ( +1,000,000) and also delays Radojevic U22 Untagging by 6 mos (+328,500) 2) Robin Lod- Acquired as free agent for est total comp $1,000,000/yr for 2.5 yrs (-1,000,000). Reduces need for CAM/CM. Also potentially reduces need for backup ST and backup Winger/Wingback. Note able Other Assumptions- (not changed). Acosta - still gone by start of season. (1,628,477) Non-Salary Needs- 4 international slots (600,000) Waterman 3026 fee (300,000) Prior Uncommitted Resources was $1,315,062 Updated Uncommitted Resources (on 12-28) under new assumptions $1,643,562 My Version - Feel free to disagree. For entertainment purposes only.