As I listen to the speculation of who is leaving, who is staying, who is coming over, and who is getting a raise the popular response to explain each one is "salary cap." The most recent rumor is that of a few National Team members (i.e. Moore, Hejduk, etc) might return home to the US and MLS. Several other, mostly unsubstantiated rumors have since popped up regarding where they might end up. But usually the salary cap comes up quite quickly to sqash the idea. Are MLS teams running out of room? By that I mean; are some MLS teams so full of talent (highly paid players) that they have little room for anyone else? Chicago has made no secret of their cap issues over the last few seasons and before they were even out of the playoffs the speculation began on who would be traded or released before the next season. If you look at teams throughout the league you can find that every team has at least 3-4 big names (other teams have more). Some of those names have just recently become "big," but some have been the best and been paid like the best since they started in the league. I know the league wants parity, but at what expense? Soon the league will run out of room for some of these guys even if they have playing years left. Players like Beasley and Donovan who are getting looks at (or have already had looks) by clubs overseas may leave, but that only alleviates some pressure for some teams. Is the MLS developing talent too quickly? Very few of these guys seem to have the talent to go over to Europe and be stars, but the can go over and contribute. What needs to be done? Basically the point is this; Is the league growing too fast for it's "britches?" Does the salary cap need to be increased (most people will immediatly agree with that)? Unloading some talent over to Europe is good for the league in many ways, but will not solve the problems. Expansion will help as some players will be shipped to the new clubs to ease cap space on the teams that need it (adding to parity throughout the league. But the US is starting to develop talent at a rate that puts too much pressure on its teams. An increase in cap space is what the league needs, but will they do it in the near future? And if they do, when in the near future? Something of impact to this thread would be a list of some of our up and comers (future national teamers), but life outside of Bigsoccer (yea, like there is one) beckons...
The answer to all your questions is YES. I would say that most MLs teams have a salary cap issue. Whether it's a player or two (or three or four) who is Max salary and underperforming or some young players who have performed well and are deserving a pay increase. The lack of increase in the salary cap sometimes means that teams are having an incredible amount of turnover from season to season which can disrupt budding chemistry and helps to keep teams down. Damn the man!! The cap needs to go up I would say at a minimum whatever the current COLA is and possiblty 10-15% for the next season. The problem is we don't know how well the league is doing financially other than the investors are committed through 2006 and the league isn't losing as much as is did last year. Does that mean they can afford an increase, I don't know but I would like to think yes.