This is pretty big news announced by W-League team Colorado Rush. Oops, misspelled her name in the thread title. Where to put this? I could've put this in the College Forum, International, USA (she's on the Youth team). i went with my instinct.
Perhaps this forum should be changed to women's professional soccer in general. Anyhow, this is a game-changer, isn't it? - a whole new path for top American women to follow.
Yes!! ( depends on how many euro teams are pushed to compete with that kind of thing) (I posted the following in the other forum where this news was posted.) Wow! This could change things. If psg is going to start paying real $$ like Lyon, and if they start overrtaking Lyon, especially in champion's league, other euro teams might be pushed into doing the same. I myself will be cheering the ladies along (hope a lot of that money is guaranteed). But it could upset our apple cart plans over here. (Horan is the leading scorer in the u.s. u20 team.)
The dollar amount is staggering, especially for a fresh-out-of-high school player. PSG's owner, Qatar Investment Authority, has made a huge investment in the men's side (Ibrahimovic(?), Lavezzi, and Thiago Silva this year, Javier Pastore last year) and I guess they also want the women's side to reflect their ambitions (especially considering they qualified for next season's Champions' League). I guess $60+ billion in oil and gas assets will let you dream big like that. I don't see this leading to an arms race in women's soccer, in Europe or elsewhere. The reality is that there are only a certain number of roster spots available on the team, and for every great player they bring in, a really good player will lose their place and look for matches elsewhere. I expect a couple of top Europeans to move there, and likely an international or two, but the strict limits on non-EU players (max 4 per team) will prevent a talent drain elsewhere. I don't see the USWNT getting raided; at best a post-Olympics Abby Wambach or Hope Solo making a money grab in the latter stages of their careers. The younger national team players (and pool players) will stay home, fight for those roster spots under Pia or her successor, and try to start up a new league. Besides, the number of entities like QIA willing to spend like that on women's soccer are few and far between. One thing that I find interesting is that these big money people out of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe will take over a club in a second, so would the USSF ever consider lobbying them to say start up a women's league in North America? Start chasing those deep pocket guys instead of waiting for them to come to US women's soccer? Would they ever make that kind of investment solely for women's clubs not attached to men's clubs? Will Horan's performance at PSG play any role in how QIA or other investors see American female players? Food for thought.
PSG has not qualified for next year's Champions League (on the women's side, at least). They finished 4th, I believe. The two division 1 feminine representatives are Juvisy and OL for 2012-2013. If they finish top 2 next season, they will qualify though.
Thanks for the correction. I misread my information and mistook last season's qualification for this one's.
If it does it is sure to start with a one. Schelin are said to have got over 100 00 euro/year when she was signed by Lyon back in 2008. Schelin was less high profile then but still more than Horan is now, but 80 000 euro/year would make six figures in $ and it have gone four years so it is not impossible.
Probably not, judging from the few examples of it we got it is always someone that is prepared to put a huge amount of money into a mens team that seem prepared to put a % (and I do mean about 1% of the main investmnet) into the coresponding womens team as a way to get a CL and/or Leauge win extra for very litle extra money (compared to the orginal investment).
As I said on the UNC thread, if there ever was an 18 year old in the women's game that I have seen in my many years of following women's soccer, it is Lindsey Horan. She carved up Seattle Sounders defense the day Rush played Sounders women in Seattle. They had no answer for her. As I mentioned before, after the game the fans that were sitting around me were not talking about Solo or Morgan or Rapinoe. They were talking about #10 on the Colorado Rush.
If she is that good. Moving to a top european club (wich PSG is trying to become but hasn't been so far) would probably be a faster way to USWNT than going the standard route through College. [Note: that will only work for the exceptonally good]
This is a new era and new times. The days of going to North Carolina as the main way to the USWNT are over. There are more talented kids now then 20, 10 or 15 years ago, more options in college and like in Europe our kids may get signed to a Club rather then a college as their way to the National Team. But you're right, this is for top talent as of right now. Lindsey Horan, IMO can be a better player then Wambach. She has the size, mobility and skills to be better. And what I especially like is that she doesn't flop on the ground like Wambach does or maybe she isn't as easily knocked down.
This may fall into the New Era theme of Mrad12. US Soccer has never signed a woman that is on the WNT to a contract until the player finished college eligibility. Official or unoffical policy. No one has challenged it. Some day Horan (or someone else) may come knocking on US Soccer about it. Yes, Horan is not going to US college, but what difference is it now than if she did go for 3 years, made the WWC team in '15, and then said I don't want to finish my senior year, I want a contact for WNT for '16 and Olympics and make the salary, incentives, bonus money? Any legal thoughts?
My legal thoughts are that as a private entity USSF can set whatever employment rules it likes. Hell the NFL has already won that battle in court. But I am not a lawyer. I don't think the USSF is going to chose to hold her skipping college against her. She is a very good player and already in the U-system for the USWNT. If she keeps playing well she will get her shot. Of course as we have seen it takes time to break into the team. Sarah Hagen is probably in line ahead of her.
Well, no private entity can have all the employment rules they want, the law has a say in the matter. The NBA was taken to court by Spencer Haywood for sticking to a minimum age rule (4 years after HS class graduates) back in the 70s and lost at the Supreme Court. The only thing that keeps their current rule out of court is the collective bargaining agreement. I believe the USWNT has a collective agreement, so that would dictate the rules. Plus, if the "NCAA eligibility" were the only thing preventing someone from being paid, you'd be hard pressed to not pay someone who has surrendered her eligibility. IANAL, of course, but I've written checks to them before.
exactly what i was thinking. my guess is that it's been announced american style, the total run of the contract. people here are assuming a) that it's the yearly salary and b) that it's in euros. which is flippant, because only lotta makes that kind of money right now.
Hmm.. flippant that is awfully strong. Either way, Marta made far more the Lotta did. I know she took a big big pay cut to play for Tyreso. Is she getting 20% of her previous salary? That would put her with Lotta.
salary or revenue? it's not the meme chose. iiuc marta's money comes largely from sponsorship contracts.
The way it was explained previously in WPS the team that had Marta had to pay $500k for her. If that team didn't pay the full amount, the league ended up having to pay it or the difference. WPS guaranteed the $500k contract for 3 years. LA Sol, and FC Gold Pride both paid the full amount. I am guessing that the WNY Flash did too.
half a mil for 3 years or per year? because lotta's making (reportedly) 10k euro/month so perhaps the salary amounts aren't radically different.
From what I remember reading, Marta's salary was split 50/50 between the club and either the league or league sponsor Puma (though this could all have been conjecture). Marta also received generous perks in addition to her contract so her total compensation seems to have been well beyond $500,ooo/year. Ooof. My guess as to Horan's contract is that it was reported in American dollars, and would come out to 81,526 euros. I have no idea whether it's a yearly figure or the total for the length of the contract, but given the wealth of the owners and their willingness to spend I wouldn't be surprised. Remember, they had to pry her away from a potential contract with Lyon so a small bidding war driving up her price may not have been out of the question.
Different kinds of forwards. Horan's a tweener - a taller than Morgan, shorter than Abby kind of forward with skills. So it depends on what "better" means. A more skilled forward? Absolutely. Abby may be the least skilled efficient forward we've ever had. Will Horan score more goals? I'm not sure. Horan may have carved up Seattle Sounders Women, but, altho she played well, she didn't carve up (just for example) the Canadian women's u20 team in the concacaf final. She's not necessarily going to be better than ubogagu, brian et al from that championship team. So I'm taking a wait and see approach, like I do with all youth players that I like - and I do love her game. There's nobody looking to body block Horan into submission for 90 minutes every game like opponents do with wambach. Horan probably has better balance, but she is unlikely ever to get the same "let's take the beast out of her power game" treatment that wambach repeatedly gets.