What an exciting day it is when salary information is released by the MLS Players Union! I mean this with only a degree of sarcasm, as I was actually quite interested, and there are some interesting things to have come out of the documents concerning our very own boys in the Claret and Cobalt.
This newly updated salary information runs through September 1, where the previously available information ran through May 1. During that time, Real Salt Lake has picked up Blake Wagner and Chris Agorsor, and for two months, Artur Aghasyan. We waived Aghasyan in June and Conor Chinn in May.
Doubt the numbers? Double check my work. Let me know if I’ve missed something terrible or have screwed something up beyond belief.
• Check out the Google Spreadsheet with salary information
• September 1, 2011 salary information
• May 1, 2011 salary information
Salaries listed are generally going to be base salaries and not guaranteed compensation salaries, which include signing bonuses and the like annualized over the term of the contract. The numbers also do not include performance-related bonuses.
Perhaps the most striking information to come out of the salary documents is that two of our top, top men, Kyle Beckerman and Jamison Olave, have lower salaries listed in September than they did in May, and not exactly by insignificant amounts. Olave’s base salary has dropped by a full $150,000, giving him a salary of just under $125,000 at current. Beckerman’s dropped by $60,000, leaving his salary at just under $220,000. It is worth a reminder that this is only a measure of salary as per contract with the MLS and does not include anything specified with the club or with other such affiliates.
Unsurprisingly, our highest paid player remains Javier Morales (hurry back, Javi!) at a base salary of $400,000, followed by Alvaro Saborio on $250,000 and Will Johnson on $225,000. This puts our captain in the fourth-highest salary at the club where he was previously at the second-highest. Interestingly, Olave was the third-highest paid player, just below Kyle Beckerman, but is now listed as our tenth-highest paid player.
Now, I have no explanation for the decrease in pay. It’s a bit of a puzzle waiting to be figured out. Of the more probable hypotheses I’ve seen, the most likely seems that the players have signed new, perhaps longer, contracts on decreased terms (For The Good Of The Club™), or that there is some tricky accounting at play, or perhaps that the numbers are in fact in error. I’ll be watching with eagle eyes (or, you know, human eyes. Probably that one.) to discover the true reason, if it comes to light.
It’s always interesting to see these numbers. It gives us a sense of where we are financially as a club and how that compares to the rest of the MLS. For instance, here’s a particularly juicy tidbit: The entire RSL squad has a base salary very close to the base salary of one Robbie Keane. Yes, that Robbie Keane, who threatens to be another “big-name” (really, Robbie Keane, big name?) signing flop. That’s nearly $3 million paid out every year for a single player. He’s paid more than Landon Donovan but not more than the aging David Beckham, who is on $5.5 million per year in base salary. Add in Landy at $2.3 million and you could have our squad three times over paid for by the salaries of the three hot stars at the LA Galaxy.
I know we’re not the only club in this position, and while I know part of the goal of the league is to bring in high-profile stars, it’s been obvious that it’s not always the option that works well. If anyone disproves that, it’s us with our relatively low-paid players who’ve managed an MLS Cup, a CONCACAF Champions League Final, and look like one of the few sides in the running for the Supporters’ Shield. Fingers crossed.
Right, I’ll break down those numbers some more tomorrow and make some vague statistical ruminations about who has been earning their paycheck and who has been dropping the ball a bit. Why the delay? I know it’s not so simple as just a money issue, and I don’t want to fall into that very easy trap of “cost per goal” and “cost per game.” It wouldn’t do anybody much good, would it?
Comments