It's great to get Kameron and I don't want to be a downer but... Check out the number that she is wearing in that photo. Kameron wore #9 at UT. A certain someone else wears (or wore) #11 for FSU. Hopefully this means nothing and they just let Kameron wear the closest jersey they had at hand for the photo.
It certainly wouldn't surprise me, but I'm holding out hope, just in case. I just donated to the Rising Spear NIL collective for soccer. Who knows?
I'm probably looking for a reason for JD to stay, but looking at salaries should be reason enough. Trinity Rodman signed the best NWSL deal last year of $1.1 mil over 4 years or $275,000/year. It seems to me that a decent NIL deal and a college degree is worth more than that. UPdate Maria Sanchez a 27 yo from Mexico just signed a 3 year deal worth $1.5 million, so things are a changing.
What do you think a NIL deal for a soccer player can be? On the Dash, if the Sanchez contract numbers are accurate, they are committing almost 700k/yr to two players https://fbref.com/en/players/bd325738/Maria-Sanchez https://fbref.com/en/players/0a85fee3/Diana-Ordonez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Dash Look at the offensive numbers they produced last season and look at how the team did. They have yet to announce a head coach. Make it make sense.
A college degree is worth more than $1.1M for someone who aspires to play pro ball? She can always go back and get her degree. She won’t have a chance to earn $1.1M over the next four year. And, for kicks, I’m using your #s. I’m not saying she can get that.
Don't forget though, it's a college degree plus NIL money compared to her pro salary. I don't know what Jordynn is going to do or if she has even made her decision however we just don't know how the numbers are going to shake out.
I wouldn't get too exercised about the jersey number --there are many reasons why that may have happened. Two have already been suggested, and another may be that Dudley wanted another number and was glad to step out of the 9. In this very turbulent time, we all might just have to relax and wait until mid August before we are certain of who is on what roster.
With any player it also matters how much they enjoy school. And how close they want to be to earning a degree before they turn pro. Those are things most of us would never know about a player. Rodman did not care for school. So going pro make lots of sense for her. I know another player who could have done the same as Rodman. But her family was all about education first. She now has her degree and will turn pro.
To me $1.1 million over 4 years is not enough to leave college. "She can always go back and get her degree." How many do? After taxes what does $275,000 a year get you? How many young people are going to save enough money to pay for school? "She won’t have a chance to earn $1.1M over the next four year." She is not the norm and didn't get that out of the gate. As to the money, it appears to be escalating, witness Maria Sanchez' contract. I don't expect JD to stay 4 years, in fact, we may have seen the last of her at FSU. That said one or two more years is NOT out of the question. As ytrs pointed out, each situation is very different. I don't know hers or have a handle on hers. Just waiting impatiently to find out.
In regards to Dudley - sure, she could get that kind of money from a desperate pro team, but as Pensky said a few times this year, this is the first year she has focused on soccer. I'd have a hard time thinking that a club owner would commit that kind of money to a player who hasn't even really shown what she can do yet. This isn't the NBA or MLB - and the rules set up for NWSL as far as salary pools go are still pretty restrictive (hello, Deyna). That being said, some club in England or Italy could for sure open up the proverbial checkbook for a talent like Dudley. Stranger things have happened. *Just upped my RisingSpear commitment, though. LOL.
Simmonds is an excellent athlete--strong, fast, physical--but haven't seen excellent soccer from her. Played left forward for Tennessee last year and while she worked hard, and is a good holdup player, she was not effective in the role--didn't generate/create enough scoring chances, didn't score. She had 1 goal, 1 assist in UT's last 12 games. Tennessee had a transfer from Penn who played the same position for Tennessee and she was much more productive than Simmonds. She is more a CF than a wide player, though might be more effective on the right than the left. It's certainly possible that fsu's staff will get more out of her than UT's staff did.
Perhaps we are violently agreeing on some broader points; I don’t know. We certainly agree that each person and situation are unique. If school is important to her, she has and will always have options. If education is important to her, she has and will always have even more options. I will say this. If my daughter wants to play pro soccer, is offered $1.1M (or anything close to that) to play for four years, and asks me for my opinion, I will almost certainly advise her to go for it. She can always go back to college. She won’t always have the opportunity to make a dream like playing pro sports come true.
To make big money in the nwsl you need to be perceived as someone who will move the needle off the field.
Would she be someone who might become a wide back or a holding midfielder? FSU will not keep a non productive player in a key role.
Why does Trinity Rodman move the needle off the field? Why did Maria Sanchez move the needle? I suspect on field performance/excellence is what moves the needle. If not, please explain why the 2 above moved the needle.
Surname. Houston clearly trying to connect with a specific Demographic. Look at Sanchez and Ordonez performance and tell me how that justifies 700 k per yr?
Good player in great situation should never be confused with great player. The league released all the salaries earlier this year to all the players. I think if you saw it you may think differently
Houston made the decision without a HC. I’m betting Kang made the call on Rodman. Does not seem like a Krilkorian type move.
Sanchez got big money from Houston because she was a restricted free agent. She benefited from free agency. She said that she had offers from other clubs so Houston had to decide if they wanted to keep her. Without having a coach in place, the price went up even higher. The expansion teams have a lot of money to use, so if Bay Area went after her Houston had to match it.
I dunno. Starting salary for someone with an MBA averages just under $150k a year (plus a ton of debt). Not sure saying no to $275k a year as a teenager is the best idea. Especially when you could get a degree later or online and especially when your dream is to play pro? Also while FSU is a decent school it’s not like having a degree from Harvard or Stanford. No way FSU’s NIL money for soccer competes with that yet.
Some interesting points, but if a new or better toy comes along, then there is no guarantee of a 2nd better contract. What is the anticipated playing life of a soccer player? 10 - 15 years. There is no limit on how long an MBA can work. They can continue to grow there salary or compensation over time. They become more valuable; whereas, a soccer player reaches a point of diminishing returns. Stay in school for a couple of extra years and you can have both in the proper sequence. Afterall, if you are good enough to succeed this year, then in 2 more years, you should be even better and command even more money.
They did not have to do anything. They chose to. Houston have made some pretty awful personnel decisions so no shock. From a soccer pov it makes no sense at all.