Quakes salary info

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by losgatosfan, Jul 13, 2005.

  1. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Not sure if you all saw this, but the NY Times got hold of salary information for all of MLS (for full article, check out): "MLS Has Wide Range of Salaries"

    The salaries reported for Earthquake players are helow. The first salary figure is the base salary, the second figure is the "guaranteed annual salary" which includes bonuses, etc.

    Code:
    Barrett	Wade	D	$130,000.00	$130,000.00
    Chung	Mark	M	$124,000.00	$124,000.00
    Ching	Brian	F	$120,000.00	$133,000.00
    Onstad	Patrick	GK	$119,350.00	$119,350.00
    Califf	Danny	D	$101,822.00	$101,822.00
    DeRosarioDwayne	F	$95,000.00	$95,000.00
    Mullan	Brian	M-F	$95,000.00	$95,000.00
    Dayak	Troy	D	$85,000.00	$86,250.00
    Cerritos,Ronald	F	$75,000.00	$81,250.00
    Russell	Ian	M	$68,250.00	$69,500.00
    Davis	Brad	M	$66,000.00	$71,000.00
    Waibel	Craig	D	$65,000.00	$65,000.00
    Clark	Ricardo	M	$51,975.00	$62,500.00
    Hart	Wes	D-M	$50,000.00	$50,000.00
    Robinson,Eddie	D	$47,500.00	$48,125.00
    Conway	Jon 	GK	$45,000.00	$45,750.00
    Cochrane,Ryan	D	$36,750.00	$51,750.00
    Moreno,Alejandro F	$35,000.00	$37,500.00
    Aloisi	Chris	D	$30,000.00	$30,000.00
    O'Rourke,Danny	M	$30,000.00	$35,000.00
    Levesque,Roger F	$16,500.00	$16,500.00
    Dombrowski,Tighe M	$16,500.00	$16,500.00
    Goldthwaite,Kevin D	$16,500.00	$16,500.00
    Wondolowski,Chris M	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    Nash	Julian	F	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    Ramirez	Orlando	F	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    Fulton	Robby	GK	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    Rodriguez,Brett D	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    Twellman,James D	$11,700.00	$11,700.00
    
    
    The Quakes have the 10th highest payroll, the only two teams with lower payrolls are RSL and New England (the Revs appear to be this year's version of the Oakland A's or Minnesota Twins, the lowest payroll but one of the top teams....)
     
  2. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Dang, talk about underpaid. How can anyone survive on 11,700 a year? I think thats below minimum wage.
     
  3. Hawkeye17

    Hawkeye17 DynaChick v QuakeBabe v WildKate v Chewie23

    Aug 25, 1999
    Miami Vice 82
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just a non-soccer related spin on this:

    I will say that $35k or more is about par with what anyone is doing in an administrative or related position. Anything below, well they might need to find a second line of work if they want to keep the soccer job.

    As for those working in the $60k range and above, that's decent given that would be the equivalent of someone holding a high position in the corporate world, even higher if over $100k. Cheers!
     
  4. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Yeah - one more clarification. For the developmental players (those who are either shown as getting $11,700 or $16,500), these figures are actually higher than they really get. These are the full 12 month figures, but the developmental contracts are on a month to month basis, and are typically ended right after the season and don't kick in until the league starts. (In other words, these guys only get about 8 months of salary, because they don't get paid during the offseason).

    They definitely play for the love of the sport, and/or in the hopes of getting signed to regular contract in the future. But even the "higher" contracts are not very lucrative, particularly for the guys living in San Jose or LA or NY or DC......some of the smaller market teams are in places where cost of living is significantly lower (and the salaries are basically the same).
     
  5. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    In San Jose? I don't think so, the average engineer makes more than 60k. Hell just to rent a house for a guy with a family is gonna eat up almost half of that.

    I knew MLS players were underpaid but I didn't think it was so bad.
     
  6. BlueMeanie

    BlueMeanie New Member

    Apr 1, 2002
    EastSIIIIDE
    But, hey, it goes up almost $5K the second year. ;)

    Non-soccer response to non-soccer post ( :D )...

    Around here, many senior contributors at tech companies make at least $100K, managers usually make more, and executives make a lot more. And I'm talking salary, not even counting stock.

    I'm guessing your figures are probably right on for non-tech industries, though. One of my neighbors is a director at a sanitation company and he said he only makes in the low 80s.

    Back to soccer...damn, these mofos are underpaid for pro athletes. E-Rob most noticeably. I also can't believe a first round pick (DFO) doesn't make more than $30K. How much more can he make from camps, etc.?
     
  7. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Camps and coaching/training club teams is definitelly how they can make money on the side. Obviously depends on whether or not they are connected enough to get those kinds of gigs.....I believe the Quakes try to help make some connections for the guys that are interested, but don't think there is anything really structured or guaranteed for the players.

    For the really good players, they get paid money for appearances on the USMNT, and I'm sure they can make a lot more money from camps and such......still, other than the top 15-20 players in the league, these guys don't make what you would call really big money. The stats from the article for the whole league showed:

    only 15 guys make over $200k; about 45 additional guys make between $100-200k. Top 10 salaries are --

    Code:
    Donovan	Landon	F	$900,000.00	$900,000.00
    Johnson	Eddie	F	$750,000.00	$875,000.00
    Ramirez	Ramon	M	$425,000.00	$500,000.00
    Wolff	Josh	F	$350,000.00	$420,357.14
    Pope	Eddie	D	$314,782.00	$378,948.66
    Adu	Freddy	F	$300,000.00	$550,000.00
    Sanneh	Tony	D-M	$285,000.00	$365,000.33
    Mathis	Clint	M-F	$270,000.00	$410,000.00
    Armas	Chris	M	$250,000.00	$325,000.00
    Guevara	Amado	M	$240,000.00	$281,250.00
    
     
  8. Hawkeye17

    Hawkeye17 DynaChick v QuakeBabe v WildKate v Chewie23

    Aug 25, 1999
    Miami Vice 82
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I see then--point taken. :) I defer you have the better angle on the San Jose area proper in that regard. (continued below...)

    That would be correct...

    I was alluding more to San Francisco and the East Bay (used to work for an architecture/interior design company and $30k and above was the average for the admins and technicians, with the top designers/executives getting $50k and over). Also not factoring in is if they are living in a single income or family household (two or more). San Jose obviously is the most expensive place to live in right now, and housing if factoring in the entire Bay Area (counties overlying the San Francisco Bay) is very expensive, depending on what area you choose to live in.

    If the players are single and rent/live in a condo they might be OK. The ones with families makes me think if their wife/girlfriend has a second job just to make ends meet. Also not factored in is if they live in the Bay Area during the off-season. If they live elsewhere from October to March their wage might be stretched a bit further, but if they are residents year long, it may or may not.

    Depending on who's getting how much, they are either making a decent living or playing just for the love of the game--no question underpaid would be the word. Cheers!
     
  9. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Did you see the "Quakes Insider" a couple of weeks ago that showed some of the guys' "crib"? I can't remember for sure, but I think it was Cochrane, Dombrowski, and Aloisi who shared an apartment.......that's the only way these guys can afford to live here. Of course, a lot of guys who are in their early 20s are in the same situation.....particularly those without college degrees....maybe not making quite as low a salary, but certainly not having such an enjoyable job.
     
  10. shasta

    shasta New Member

    Mar 8, 2004
    AEG SVCKS
    And given the relatively short career span, that's not a lot of money.

    I really admire these guys. Most play for the love of the game, and this certainly shows with the Quakes.

    And they stay till' the last kid is gone, giving autographs.

    Props, guys!!!!
     
  11. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Yeah, I think most of the players are showing how much they love the game. I really hope we see things improve and the players getting paid a fair wage, obviously there is a huge incentive for players who do show a lot of talent to mave abroad where players can make more in a week than most MLS players do in a year.

    BTW, does anyone know what the salary cap is? If LA are paying LD 900k and still under it we must have room for at least three or four players in the Josh Wolff/Ramon Ramirez pay scale.
     
  12. CUgrad01

    CUgrad01 New Member

    Oct 20, 2004
    These salaries are a flaming joke. We pay our gardeners more in Nebraska. Even the "higher paid" guys are in a short term dream. Donavan does not even have a college degree. What the hell does he do when his career fizzles? He lives in California and his salary is OK for now. Why the heck he did not stay in Europe is a real black mark on his confidence and quality. Avg entry salaries for college graduates far surpass the avg of players with 1 to 5 years of experience. No wonder MLS is struggling.
     
  13. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Only part of the salaries count against the cap - last year it was $280k, not sure if that went up. So, even if a player makes more than $280k, he only counts for that much against the team cap. Can't find anywhere that lists what the actual team caps are right now, would have thought it would be somewhere on the MLS site.....
     
  14. Ringo

    Ringo Member

    Jun 10, 2002
    Rough and Ready
    Club:
    Yeovil Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    a lot of these guys coach youth teams to make money.

    does that pay better than playing? I know the leagues around here treat their coaches nicely.
     
  15. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    "We don't find the league's rules to be restrictive," Doug Hamilton, the general manager of the Galaxy, said in an interview Saturday night, before Los Angeles played the MetroStars at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. "Six to eight guys above the budget is fine."

    Of course he doesn't he gets to pay 900k to a player while we get to pay 130 k to our highest paid. What ever happened to the salary cap? Typical "bend the rules" mentality that MLS has always applied to the Galaxy amd metrostars. But we can still win a few road games despite their best efforts to stack the deck :D
     
  16. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    LOL, now that is funny, there's a salary cap but it's not really a salary cap if you're in LA or NY. :)
     
  17. CUgrad01

    CUgrad01 New Member

    Oct 20, 2004

    And BTW..........Cochrane is WAY overpaid on a relative basis in the opinion of an unbiased and distant video observer.........He is also overpaid absolutely vis a vis other MLS and quake players. Never seen him live.......but on TV..........wow......does he get game time by virtue of mgmt trying to justify/rationalize his relative salary????
     
  18. BlueMeanie

    BlueMeanie New Member

    Apr 1, 2002
    EastSIIIIDE
    I don't know about NYNJ's financial situation, but I can understand how, as a franchise, LA has more spending money than SJ (AEG favoritism aside). They've always averaged higher attendance. I'd guess they make more money on merchandise because they have more fans. Now they have an SSS, so I presume they're not spending the same ridiculous facility rental costs the Quakes do. The Quakes couldn't have afforded to pay Landon $900K, because he didn't put butts in seats here.

    Lord, get us an I/O who will get us an SSS and spend money. One or the other will do in a pinch, but I'd prefer both.
     
  19. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Amazing, Ruiz makes 40k after scoring over 55 goals in just afew years. And Dallas fans are wondering why he went AWOL? I'd be surprised if he came back from international duty.
     
  20. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    This I can understand too, and I fully support the idea that teams who are finacially successful should be able to reap the benefits. What bothers me is just the "cloak and dagger" part of it from MLS who claim that the playing field is equal for all. If they want to come out and say each team is on their own and can do or die then so be it, but don't tell us there is a salary cap if some teams are allowed to exceed it.
     
  21. BlueMeanie

    BlueMeanie New Member

    Apr 1, 2002
    EastSIIIIDE
    I think the league should establish a luxury tax. Teams that go over salary restrictions pay a resultant, scaled fine based on the amount of violation. The fine money can go into a dispersal to the other teams, be donated to a league sponsored charity, whatever. Just make them pay for going over.

    Let us not forget that LA and NYNJ frequently overpay but, other than '02, never reap the rewards, so having a huge payroll isn't always the solution.
     
  22. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Absolutely, thats what's been so great about the Quakes performances, and even moreso this year looking at the salaries. Ultimately its what happens on the field that counts. But I might just be a little less critical of some players on the team from now on when I think they are paid less than 20k a year.

    Overall my respect for this years team has gone a few notches higher, it must be hard for some of em to swallow if they read that article.

    I'm not saying LD does not deserve the money he's making, he really has had a huge influence on the success of the US team and MLS, even if I say it begrudgingly, but the factthat a player like Davis (now capped) is making only 66k is really bothering.

    I wonder if, now that the Times has published these figures there is gonna be a bunch of disgruntled players in the league,. I think if I was carlos Ruiz I'd say f*** you MLS and take a walk.
     
  23. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Team rankings based on the published guaranteed salaries:

    1. LA $2.754
    2. Dallas $2.609
    3. Chicago $2.245
    4. DC United $2.176
    5. RSL $2.092
    6. Metrostars $1.857
    7. Chivas $1.802
    8. KC $1.770
    9. Columbus $1.652
    10. San Jose $1.651
    11. Colorado $1.500
    12. New England $1.461

    Team rankings based on calculating "salary counted toward cap" as max of $280k:

    1. LA $2.124
    2. Chicago $2.115
    3. Dallas $2.014
    4. DC $1.906
    5. RSL $1.863
    6. NY $1.856
    7. Columbus $1.652
    8. San Jose $1.651
    9. KC $1.630
    10. Chivas $1.583
    11. Colorado $1.500
    12. New England $1.461


    So, assuming in this calculation that LA is not over the cap, San Jose has $470k or so room under the cap based on these numbers.....
     
  24. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Agree.....I think this is because he was a "Nike project 40" signee, they get extra money that is supposed to cover college costs or the equivalent.....there is the classic question (in any sport) of whether the coaches play the guys who get the higher salaries in order to try to get them work and justify the salaries. Don't know the situation for sure though....
     
  25. losgatosfan

    losgatosfan New Member

    Feb 21, 2005
    Los Gatos, CA
    Ruiz (and some other International players) still get some pay from their other teams, so I'm guessing that's part of why he is so low paid. I think by the Intn'l team keeping paying their salary, they maintain more ownership of the player and ultimately get more of the transfer fee if the player goes to Europe. But in any case, he does not seem to be getting what he deserves from Dallas/MLS.
     

Share This Page