It’s that time of year again (again).
On Tuesday, the MLS Players Union released its list of player salary information. It’s the second time the MLSPU has put out these numbers this season; the first set of salary data was put out on July 15, exactly two months before the new set.
It’s a day that data miners, capologists, and general soccer nerds love. It’s a time where progressives start thinking “hey, we’re getting to a point where this league is becoming more transparent”, only to realize that this is the doing of the players union, not the league itself. For the 99 percenters and anyone else who believes in divisions of money that make sense, it’s a time to shake your head at the fact that Matt Polster makes a tenth of what Frank Lampard gets.
TWC: 2015 MLS Salary Information Infographic and Dissection
A tenth. Let that sink in for a bit. This is why we’ve seen celebrations like Eddie Johnson’s (featured in the GIF of the Week below) in the past and will very likely continue to see them for many years to come.
A word of warning before looking into the numbers though: don’t take them for face value.
There are some things that we know about player salaries in MLS. For example, we know that (according to the 2015 Roster Rules) no one player’s salary budget charge can exceed $436,250. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s doing an examination of how successful Barack Obama’s presidency has been, and the only information available to you is that his middle name is Hussein.
These salary figures don’t tell us anything about allocation money (both regular and targeted), salary budget charges, or anything else that would help us see how a system where Kaka’s salary can be higher than the payroll of all but five clubs (and that’s including his own) and yet still work.
Part of what works for me is that the money being spent on players is clearly on the rise. As many will argue, investment in the on-field product is key in growing the game domestically and keeping the giants of Europe at bay. We can point at all of the successes in recent seasons where stars both domestic and international have made the leap.
At the same time, there are moves like the DeAndre Yedlin transfer that baffle me for how MLS 1.0 they come across as. It’s the stereotypical MLS exchange of a promising 20-something leaving and a washed-out, half-retired 30-something (until I find a better dead horse to beat, see Frank Lampard once again) coming in.
We’re seeing signs of change though. The Lampards and the Pirlos are still coming on board, and though their star power and experience are valuable, having the dos Santos’ and the Giovincos who add the youth factor into the equation are just as important. If Javier Hernandez had found his way to Orlando this summer, I think it would have been a huge step for MLS to shake the “retirement league” moniker.
What I’m scared to see is how competitive a league MLS can be in the coming years. The likely end of Real Salt Lake’s run of playoff appearances comes at a time when for the first time in league history a team has FOUR players on their books making over a million dollars in base salary. I have a bad feeling that the team will no longer be the star, but rather it will be the stars that are the team.
Of course, things could change if the non-spenders start stepping up or the future expansion clubs take on the NYCFC/OCSC model of spending high out of the gate. It could also change if the big spenders start cutting spending, but the first option appears more realistic.
If they ever get off the ground, Miami will be a spender. So will LAFC. Atlanta will have the money to spend, but could go either way. The fans of Minnesota and Sacramento won’t allow their teams to enter on minor-league budgets either. Teams like Vancouver, Portland, and Chicago have all shown at times that they want to invest more, and the New York Red Bulls are just one or two big names away from putting themselves back among the big spenders after sitting this year out.
Since the arrival of Clint Dempsey in Seattle in the summer transfer window of 2013, it seems like attempts have been made in every window to break new ground.
Bring back a kind-of-sort-of in his prime American? Check.
Bring back a definitely in his prime, or not even there yet, American? Check (Michael Bradley, Toronto).
Get the last guy not named Messi or Ronaldo to be crowned the best player in the world? Check (Kaka, Orlando).
What will be next? Bringing a big-time domestic star all the way up through the youth system into a first team and keeping him away from Europe for an entire career? Giving somebody $10 million to play here? Getting a Ronaldo-type star? Getting a Ronaldo-type star before they turn 30? Before they turn 28? 25?
A lot of it boils down to the money and being able to compete with the rest of the world. MLS is still far from that point.
But at least it looks like they’re trying to change that.
