For crying out loud. When will MLS raise the salary cap enough to retain talented players? Several teams have lost out on key players to big and not so big European teams. Getting the well wishes for x player and the potential (note I said potential) gains for our national team out of the way, do you guys resent the MLS for not being a competitive employer? In the future I want our talented players to leave to better them selves in the top 3 leagues...Not leave for a 400k raise in obscure leagues like Norway, Austria or 3rd div sides, etc.
For the billionth time, the cap will be raised when those who control the pursestrings (the owners) want to raise the cap.
I do feel MLS is missing out by not bidding enough for Noonan, Mathis, and Goodson. Noonan was even under contract and NE was too cheap to keep him. That's 2 players right there in the NT camp that left who could have been retained at normal salaries.
I will be happy once we stop losing guys to European bush leagues. That will only happen when the cap is raised, so we'll just have to wait.
MLS needs to stop this madness. Here's a nice article here that talks about the same problem, nice read. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=503146&root=mls&cc=5901
The cap will grow, but hopefully slowly and cautiously. If I am correct, I believe that the league has not made a profit yet. It's kindof a chicken and egg thing. The league needs to loosen the cap to get/keep good players and continue to build a fan base, which will bring in more revenue and allow the cap to be further loosened to allow the league to spend even more on higher quality players. To me this issue is the most important issue that faces the league. The worst thing in the world would be to get caught up in the hysteria of we have to bring in big name players and have the league fold. Haven't we been down that path before? I think the cap is just causing teams to be more creative/resourceful - hence the S. America wave that we are going through.
"You people think you can get up here & tell ME how to run MY business? Think again suckers...... for that's all you fans are to me. You children - you kick your little ball around - jerks that couldn't even balance a checkbook! I really do not care what you think. I give my "State of the league" speech - crap I hire some student to write for me. Then they ask me questions! Me - the Great Don Garber take questions from the likes of you? Don't make me laugh. & your ideas! If I hear another brilliant BigSoccer idea, I'll fall on the floor laughing. Look - you suckers just keep ponying up for "your" team & leave the thinking to me."
The fans have to prove they will support, and buy tickets for, a soccer team come good times and bad. Come international superstar or no-names. The fans have to buy up new jerseys and merchandise every year. Fans have to watch televised games even for MLS teams that are hundreds of miles away. After all, this is just what loyal fanbases do in the rest of the world. Once that happens the pursestrings will open.
personally i think we'll see a larger then historical increase in the cap for 2009 when the labor negotiations are complete. it wouldn't make sense for massive increases though when the leagues income doesn't support it. i'd rather see slow healthy growth that provides longevity, then huge dollars spent leading to contraction or worse, the league folding.
I would say that once RedBull park opens for their first season or so, MLS will wait another season and then increase the salary cap. I would say 2010 is when they increase. Actually, wait no. Wouldn't the expansion franchises rather be on the 2.3 million salary cap since they will be new and will need adjustment time (like Philly, San Jose). Wouldn't you say that expansion limits the salary cap?
I don't know if it has to limit it, but it seems to me that expansion would mean that there's more opportunity for a guy like Noonan to get a satisfactory contract. A change I'd like to see is a limit to what a team can demand for an out of contract player. I don't know the details, but it seems to me that Noonan should have been able to find a home in the league that would work. Were there really no teams willing to pay him? Or, were there really no teams willing to pay him, and pay NE his ransom?
I agree this is the 1st year MLS has lost about 10 2nd tier players to leagues such as Austria, Norway, Denmark etc but until I know what they signed for your point may or not be valid. I do not think many of those players are making 400K in those leagues. I'd love to know. Noonan made 227K last yr and would probably have gotten a small raise but due to injuries isn't worth much more than 250K. Is he making significantly more than 250K in Norway? I won't know until someone publishes it. I think losing 10 players and if it is because solely on salary then MLS will have to look at the balance of losing skilled players and on field quality vs. the difference in their increase in salaries. I could be wong but I don't think it's as much as you think.
i believe EU countries have to have a minimum 400k euros for foreign players which makes mls money, well, yeah
Please don't take this the wrong way but you are living a fairytail sir. Think about it this way if your boss makes a ton of money and you and the other employees are working day and night for him whats the likelyhood that he's suddenly gonna just spend alot (because the salary cap needs to increase by like a factor of 10) and increase everyone's salary. Not likely, he's getting all the money he likes and your doing the work, this is also known as extortion. Sure he may give you a day off or increase your pay by $0.30, but he won't give you what your worth. Its a word that MLS fans (especially NE fans) know all too well.
I've heard this bandied about for years but it simply makes no sense. I know C.Davies isn't making 400K and he's a foreigner in a EU country. It doesn't pass the logic test. So a small club in Belgium avg 4K fans a year has to pay 400K Euros for a foreigner which is around 650K dollars. So do EU players make alot less? Isn't that what the EU is trying to do protect EU players wages?
UMMM hey.. SELLING PLAYERS FOR A PROFIT IS PART OF THE BUSINESS MODEL OF EVERY LEAGUE!!!! Especially and including MLS!!!!!! EPL sells players everyweek... ALL The time!! EPL LA LIGA SERIA A all SELLLLL PLAYERS!!!! even their better ones for a profit.. What the heck IS THE MATTER with this one sided view??
look if you don't like my reasons and rationale perhaps you should consider using some examples that prove your point like this. The guy who runs the galaxy pays through the nose to bring in high quality talent Beckham donovan ruiz perhaps more. what happens? people come to games, lots of them and they all pay money. Since MLS is a single entity the increased attendance benefits all owners. or the fact that the union of players has the power to increase their own salary and that is why salary will increase not due to some pipedream benevolent owner theory. perhaps you should consider some kind of analysis like that rather than call me names, or throw out vague generalizations that have no context to them. OH and take some anger management classes while your at it.
i co-sign this to the fullest extent. hopefully each year the salary cap will at least be raised significantly.
I'm not sure of a link, but I read a short article recently, over this winter, that MLS had met over raising the salary cap substantially and that although most owners were for it an influential 2 [Kraft is the name I remember] vetoed it. Does anyone remember who the other owner was? As a New England fan, it is depressing to see how our owner so badly hurts the future of the team. But as an MLS fan it is not just depressing when he hurts the future of the league, it is infuriating.
This is no rational to what your saying. Your statements are made out of pure ignorance about a topic you nothing of... business management. Its ok, but its the truth. try to do some research on why the MLS has lasted as long as it has and you will see they are doing it just they way they are suppose too. Nice and easy does it. Your view is a one sided, dream land discussion that doesnt take into the reality that the league has certain cashflow inflows and outflows it has to meet in order to survive. That part of the equation isn't even in your "lets just go out and spend a crap load on players!" argument. Its irresponsible to the fans of the league and to all of those that have helped build it to the level ti is today. YOu sounds liek Georgio Chinaglia, and look where Champions world ended up with him as one of the helmsmen, bankruptcy.
I would love to send a case of beer and a dozen roses to the two owners that did veto it. They 2 of the few that have been around since the beginning and know what it takes to make a league grow properly. Its not just throwing money at players. That didn't help the MLB nor the NHL. The idiots who keep pushing for this massive salary cap increase need to be shot. besides hes a writer, what the hell does he know about running a league? Damm armchair warriors.
Like paying Pete Vagenas a million a year will suddenly not make him suck! The league is doing a great job and this slow growth process is the only way to go. Brilliant business practice.