Wingert to Deseret News: Pay scale ‘a little bit unfair’ toward U.S. players
By: Fitz | April 9th, 2008I want to begin with a quote from Real Salt Lake wing fullback Chris Wingert, who spoke to James Edward of the Deseret News for a story in that paper about MLS salaries, and addressed the issue of pay for American players vs. foreign players:
I’m kidding. He said this:
“Personally I think it’s a little bit unfair, the foreigners in general make a lot more money when I feel we have a lot of good players in America. The foreigners on our team are great guys and great players and deserve the money they’re making. Around the league, it just seems that the only way you’re getting paid is if you’ve played somewhere else.”
Every time I ponder the issue of how MLS should treat American players, my brain — all 1.5 pounds of it — goes around in circles. Here’s why:
1. I want MLS to be a league that places a priority on developing American players.
2. MLS cannot survive without a steady, passionate fan base.
3. MLS cannot draw a steady, passionate fan base if the quality of soccer is subpar.
4. To increase the level of play in a growing league, MLS added more spots to foreign players.
5. To draw foreign players, MLS teams tend to offer them higher salaries than American players.
6. By offering higher salaries to foreigners — generally speaking, of course — we piss off mid-level U.S. players.
7. And by pissing off mid-level U.S. players, they go elsewhere to earn more money.
8. And by them going elsewhere, MLS doesn’t cater to Americans as much because of its ridiculous salary cap.
9. So if MLS offered better pay to mid-level U.S. players, that wouldn’t leave enough cap money to lure quality foreign players.
10. And then the quality of play wouldn’t be as good as it is now.
11. And the fan base — a multicultural one, mind you — wouldn’t be as big.
12. So MLS would have to do what it’s doing now — bring in quality foreign players.
13. Etc.
The easy answer is to increase the salary cap to accomodate players at the level of Pat Noonan et. al. who leave for Scandianavia or Austria, yet bring in more players from abroad. But that ain’t happening.
So let’s assume that the salary cap will increase only incrementally over the years (except for the Galaxy, which will receive an exemption for $78 million). What do you think of Wingert’s comment? Is he right? Wrong? Right, but oversimplifying? On the right track? Delusional? Idealistic?
There are many sides to this issue, which is what makes blogs fun.
So, in the words of the great poet Jose Mourinho, start doing it to me online.
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Comments
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Fitz, as always, a great read.
I expected going into this year a significant bump in the salary cap, but alas, they only raised it what? 100k?
100k divided by 18 people.
Oooof.
This year, a few things need to happen to enjoy a significant increase in the cap
#1 - Becks has to have a great year
#2 - Attendance needs to be on the upswing on all levels.
#3 - Media attention needs to continue
All realistic. And maybe then we will see more of a 500K raise to the cap. Who knows?
Posted from
United States
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This is completely irrelevent, but the best thing about being in Dublin last week?
South Park, dubbed in Gaelic. No subtitles. Way to get the kids interested in speaking a nearly dead language!
(They also had SpongeBob, but that wasn’t nearly as interesting. SpongeBob doesn’t have Mr. Hankey.)
Posted from
United States -
American players who come straight from senior year of college are in a real tough bargaining position. They are older than the world average and have only ever played at a level (NCAA) that is significantly enough lower that their prospects in MLS are far from certain. Most end up on the Dev contract and are grateful enough to beat the odds and make the senior roster that they take the standard 4yr senior min 34k contract. Foreign NCAA players frequently exist on the same pay scale.
The other pay scale is the experienced with serious international alternatives pay scale. Most foreign players are on this, but so are MLS players on their second contract, former Yanks Abroad who rebounded back, frequently capped players (on 2nd contract) and top Gen-Adidas YNT players. There are certainly enough Americans who are deemed too high comparatively and they all had the leverage of being on this pay scale when the contract was written.
Posted from
United States -
When you got a grocery store, you pay more for foreign products. This is because 1. They are rarer and possess unique and distinct traits that set them apart from American products, and 2. They have to travel farther to get there.
Thus, if we think of the MLS as a grocery store, it makes sense that a foreign player would make more than a domestic player. He is right to say that the only way you get paid is if you played elsewhere. It usually means you are a better and more experienced player, and thus deserve a higher pay grade.
I am sure there are many exceptions to this rule, but generally the pay scale for foreign v. american players makes perfect sense to me.
Posted from
Chile -
Steve, you have topped Jose Mourinho’s omelette analogy. He talked only about a breakfast item. You included a whole freakin’ store.
Seriously … I appreciate the posts on here. Keep them coming.
Posted from
United States -
Fitz,
It is a tough call, as you say. There definitely needs to be something done to get mid level and even low level guys making more. It’s pretty tough to survive on $17,000-$34,000 a year, especially in some of the cities where these guys live. But I definitely think it’s important to raise the level of play in MLS, which means bringing in the foreign guys. This will help the US guys in the long run, because playing at a higher level will translate to better international play [both club and country].
The issue about college athletes and coming out into the pros after 4 years is pretty tough, when bigger start are peaking in the pros at ages more like 18-20. Maybe there’s a way to figure this out too, but the whole thing is pretty complicated. Increasing the salary cap would help, but increasing the minimums is a must.Posted from
United States -
I agree with what Steve is saying about having experience elsewhere and commanding a higher pay scale. It only makes sense. I mean, look at Argentina where the market is small, but players like Juan Sebastian Veron and Juan Roman Riquelme make far more than their teammates and that’s because their prior experience overseas has a great value.
I think part of the problem with MLS is that they wait far too long to recruit players and are slave-ish to the college system much like NFL is. I think the whole college thing is a mistake on many levels. It keeps kids from associating with clubs early on so that the club can have a hand in player development and the clubs get the player too old to do anything with him through the ’super draft’. The best players in the world have come from very, very modest means, sometimes straight out of poverty. Heck, even Beckham sounds like an idiot sometimes, and I seriously doubt that he’s a college graduate, but check out his paycheck. I guess what I’m getting at is that the problem is deeply rooted in our society and what’s happening is that the MLS trying to take what football is overseas and cram it into the way we do things over here. Sometimes it’s not that successful and sometimes it is.
Feel free to tell me I’m an idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about. This is just my point of view. In other countries, kids are playing some really high level football at a young age and truly understanding their roles on the field and the game in general, not just chasing after a ball and booting out of the penalty area blindly to clear it (which I’ve seen happening in the MLS and it kills me that professionals are doing this).
Posted from
United States
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