i thought word was that Adidas was footing most of the bill for ZZ to LAG. if that's true, or even partially true, then I don't see how it doesn't make economic sense for Anschutz. Adidas probably thinks it can sell a shitload of boots/apparel to that massive LA population if Zidane is playing for the Galaxy. not to mention the entire US (40 million youth soccer players right?). so they probably make their investment back quite easily. not to mention the prestige and the brand name benefits that go along with having the best player in the last 25 years back playing again in your gear. the more i think about it, the more i think it's probably Adidas pushing for this thing more than Leiweke or Anschutz. as for St. Phil, if i have to pay $15 million straight up to get ZZ ... then I ain't recouping that. but if the number's only like $10-11 million, AND Adidas is paying a large portion of it, i think you've got to do it. getting Zidane boosts his club to a whole new stratosphere. there may not be immediate tangible benefits, but i think this is a big-picture, get your name out there kind of move. bottom line or no, i'd be surprised if he wasn't a bit tempted.
I think its more of " Zidane to Galaxy, let's make it happen" The point is that right now its just a strong rumor with somewhat of a value. It all really depends on when AEG is planning to sign ZZ. If they dont sign him this season, then we cant discuss on many different possibilities (New rules etc..) that ZZ might get recruited to the Galaxy.
1. Some people think that adidas will pick up the cost, but it's been pointed out (if not confirmed) that that's not allowed under current rules. I hope it's not allowed, cuz if it is, you're going to see a whole lot of guys paid $20K or $40K or $100K a year to endorse Red Bull. I mean, you just gave the Red Bulls a license to ignore the salary cap. And if you look at MLS, if you look at DC, or any team, what do you see? You see a team where the 2-3 worst starters are alot further from the "average" starters than you see in a non-cap league. But if you give NYRB the ability to have their marginal starters count $50K against the cap but actually make $80K, you just gave them a huge leg up on the competition. If you allow NYRB to pay their #3 central defender $20K to endorse Red Bull, you just gave them a "get out of injury trouble free" card. 2. I'm dubious that a DP slot can be slid over from ZZ to Landon. DC is not allowed to make Gomez their DP this year at, say, $600K, and then pay him the next 2 years at, say, $200K/year. I know it's not the exact same situation, not at all, but the logic that prohibits DC from doing that is that it allows a team to "rotate" the DP salary between a couple of players, thus getting 3 DPs with only one slot. Allowing a team to slide the DP from one player to another allows LA to pad its roster in a somewhat similar way. Yeah, I see the difference, in that Landon doesn't count for this year and this year only. I'm still dubious. It'd make it too easy for a team to bring in an old player for one year, and then take one of their other players and sign him to a 2 year deal of $200K in year one, then $1M in year two. That's $600K per year, but such a player would only count as a DP for one of those seasons. 3. The other issue is that it's hard to see what LA has right now that fits what looks like the market price, i.e., a former MVP. I mean, once you assume Landon is untradeable, what's left? Joe Cannon and Chris Albright and arguably Quavas Kirk or Nathan Sturgis. The rest of LA's roster is a bunch of guys like Martino and Quaranta, or Vagenas and Ian Russell and Nate Jaqua. If LA wants to make a deal for one year of ZZ, OK, then I'm sure there are teams who aren't going to use their DP this year anyway and would be willing to settle for, say, Chris Albright and an allocation or a #1 draft choice. But that just strips LA of some of the assets they'll need to keep Landon next year. LA's only real hope of making a deal is for 2 of the following 4 players to show something big...Martino, Quaranta, Sturgis, and Kirk. 2 of those guys could, potentially, be about worth Guevara, esp. when you look at age. I think LA will have a better set of assets to trade in 8 months than they have today. The point LASN keeps blithely running past is that LA has to ACQUIRE that 2nd DP slot, and the season starts in a few days, and they have a pretty hollowed out core of a roster. In retrospect, the Cannon trade was the killer for them. They already had Hartman, who's pretty good. In upgrading to Cannon, they really hurt their ability to acquire a 2nd DP. It's almost like their GM is a numbskull who can't plan past next Friday. Or, as some people are assuming, the league will bail them out.
If it's one year, I just don't see it being that big of a deal. And if it's two years, well, then LA is gonna have to trade Landon. (HA!)
If your theory is right (Adidas paying for most), then why the HELL is he not going to New York, where he could have a massive financial impact (remember those 75k seats to fill?) at a very minimal price...
What are talking about? If we manage to have Donovan, Beckham and Zidane all in the same team, do you know how much media coverage around the globe it would get? This would indeed be a milestone and historic day in MLS, only in Europe and in big clubs such as Chelseas, Man U, Real Madrid and Barcelona would be able to have such stars under one team. Who would ever imagine a team from Concacaf and especially MLS to built such team. Its time to see outside the circle and put the DC/LA crap aside and look at how its going to benefit everyone and soccer in the US.
i'm not talking about a 2005/2006-style under the table deal. those are outlawed, you're right. I'm talking about a setup similar to what Beckham got. AEG's only paying Becks, what, 5 million a year? but DB will likely be pulling in something close to $40 or $50 million a year. I'm just saying, if Zidane truly wants $15 million to play one year in MLS, it really doesn't matter where that $15 million comes from. this is all hypothetical --> if Adidas wanted him to play again (in MLS) so badly, that they would pay him a $10 million endorsement contract, then that only leaves $5 million for AEG. that by definition is not an under-the-table deal. that's a deal just like Beckham's. is it worth it for AEG to bring ZZ over for $5 million? no idea.
i have no idea, you'd have to ask Adidas that. for them, i'd imagine it's all about selling boots (and other soccer-related gear). Maybe they don't like the idea of ZZ playing in that billboard of a jersey. Maybe they think that benefits Red Bull much more than it does them. maybe not. i really have no idea. i do know that, if they have ZZ in LA (playing alongside Beckham), Adidas will sell a ton of boots/apparel just to the soccer playing kids in SoCal (population: 18 million). and obviously that's a huge starting point for a nation-wide campaign. as to why that is different than ZZ being in NY -- from Adidas's perspective -- i really don't know.
5 year, $25 million dollars ring a bell? At one time, Herbalife was practically considered like the Scientologists- but are now more mainstream. Regardless, its awash between them and Red Bull, my friend.
Can we just agree to put "Zidane to MLS" in the same category as "60-90 days", the NY Cosmos, promo/relegation, single-table, no playoffs??? Please? Let's let newbies start a thread, then we can all dogpile on 'em and get yelled at by the mods. Maybe we'd eventually have the same luck like we did w/ all those "Beckham to MLS" threads: it'll eventually come to fruition??? Please?
Oh, that's a different kettle of fish. If ZZ independently gets a deal with adidas and image rights and so forth, I'm sure that'd be legal. We still have to deal with the fact that the Gals need to acquire a DP slot, and I don't see how they can put together a package equivalent to the only deal made so far, the Guevara deal.
Its not an inflated view, its a reality that would bring allot of money to all the teams in MLS. Teams would have a positive effect in tickets sales, merchandise, local media coverage etc... It will only benefit MLS and I am all for that. For example, I would not have no problem if NYRB would sign big name players because I know that when they come to the HDC, it will be a packed house elevating the passion and gaining more for fans.
No. The GM of the Utah Jazz, then ran the parent company of the New York Knicks, and who coincidentally owns both an MLS and an NHL club today, has never in his career tried to solve such an issue as filling a 75k stadium. Yes, it is. It's better to leave them empty and move to a venue that could be filled at reasonable cost.
1. Yeah, AEG owns LAG. AEG also owns Chicago. Chicago made a serious run at Zidane. More specifically, Lieweke made a run for Zidane. In a stadium that isn't sold out (so more profit value to signing him for Chicago than LAG). And AEG backed out--it just got too expensive. But now they're going to do it for LAG? Oh yeah, that's right, AEG is interested in LAG being the league's supper club. 2. Red Bull made two serious runs at Zidane and couldn't get him signed. And Red Bull has shown a willingness to go deeper and pay more money than anyone else in terms of deep pockets and big money for a player. 3. This whole "Zidane to play with Beckham" nonsense got started by Bild. No-one yet has refuted my points about Bild being the German version of the National Enquirer when it comes to soccer news. The French press then interviewed Zidane directly and he said he's not coming to LAG--that's a quote directly from Zidane. But b/c Lieweke says they've talked and had a "smile" that means it's happening? 4. This whole argument of Zidane to LAG happening is based upon a couple of assumptions: --Adidas will fund him (which the league prohibits) --LAG will either trade for a second DP (no indication of someone willing to trade at this point, pretty skimpy ability of LAG to provide trade value and also issues with their ability to get the cap room) or provide an exception. Except the easy exception would have been not to grandfather Donovan--just exempt him permanently by arguing he was already signed. And it would have been easy to give TFKAM that magical second DP rather than forcing them to trade for one--they were talking with Ronaldo at that point so if the league was going to make that kind of rule change, why didn't they then? --Zidane, if signed now RIGHT NOW, would miss about 1/3rd of the MLS season b/c of his standing FIFA suspension for his headbutt in the WC. --LAG has a bunch of positional needs but they'll strip some of those other positions (defense, maybe goal, maybe outside mid) in order to add a 3rd player who is a good central mid (Donovan, Beckham who Yallop has already said is the A-mid once he arrives and now Zidane). --the league supposedly likes the idea of a SUPER club according to a couple of LAG fans (when all of the evidence is to the contrary--the draft, YSAs, getting firmer on cap enforcement). This is exactly the same line parroted about 5 months earlier by TFKAM fans who were arguing that Beckham should go to TFKAM b/c it would make the ideal supper club in the media capital of the world. --that AEG is eager to sign up a bunch of big names players to multi-million dollar salaries when AEG was actually one of the teams who was most leery of the idea of really going after big name players. Hunt and Co. were the biggest opponents of this. But AEG eventually came around to the thinking of some of the newer owners IF it was done on a very limited basis. But the assumption is that they're now rejecting that 11-12 years of thinking of the need to limit salaries, have a cap, not go whole-hog on big names. The season can't start soon enough so we can get away from the silly speculation about supper clubs and LAG (or someone else) attempting to replicate the downfall of Real Madrid.
first of all, what is your fascination with the term "supper club"?? i still don't get it. again, sponsors are funding Beckham and the league's not prohibiting that. sponsors are footing up to 90% of Beckham's yearly income. AEG's only paying $5 million ... you telling me that Beckham would have come to MLS for a measley $5 mil? WTF are you talking about, AEG practically strong-armed the rest of the league to rubber stamp the DP rule ... all because Anschutz knew he had Becks waiting in the wings. the financial realities of this league are changing, bud. YOU have no idea what's inside the head of Anschutz right now (nor do i, and i don't pretend to). but i can tell you this: AEG-owned teams have signed David Beckham, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and they offered to get someone else for Houston. El Matador wasn't cheap either. seems like St. Phil is THAT adverse to the idea as you think.
How do you define independently? If Lieweike calls Adidas and says, "ok, here's the deal- Phil will cover $4m a year in salary, but you guys have to sponsor Zidane to the tune of $6m a year- then we can bring him in. Then Adidas says yes, and turns around and calls Zidane and offers him a $6m a year contract (between Zidane and Adidas). You telling me that MLS TURNS DOWN that deal because Leiweike brought up the suggestion to Adidas? I doubt that seriously. Let's face facts that we are dealing here with a series of interlocking relationships in which the lines are often blurry, and quite often can be moved or even erased. Not in every case, but in a lot of cases. Moreover, getting Zidane is on such a high scale, that I could see 'the powers that be' becoming as lenient as possible (meaning if there is a way to 'bend' a rule, they would certainly consider it).
Just to take the conspiracy theory a bit further... If LA has to get a DP slot for Zidane that they can't transfer to Donovan the next year... and if Adidas is kicking a ton of money into the deal... Maybe they trade Donovan. He's a Nike guy and if Adidas is trying to build a marketing all star team in LA, LD doesn't really fit there. BY the way if this happened it would be awful for the league. It would be a case of sponsors running teams, but I wouldn't put it past them...
If the HDC will only be packed when NYRB come to town if NYRB sign big name players, then signing Beckham is a failed business strategy. You've essentially contradicted yourself. I've gotten the impression that while you're a very passionate fan, and I respect that, you flit about mentally.
That's not independent, and that's against the rules so far as I know. Make ZZ's agent earn his damn money, and make him negotiate with adidas. Is that so hard?
I just wish he would be hit by a car so we can stop having these ZZ to Chicago, NY, LA, or anywhere else someone can make up threads.