So in one of the few areas of transparency in Major League Soccer, the players union releases the salaries for the players twice a year and for me it is always interesting to look and see how pay and performance relate to each other. Now you have to remember that the reported salaries often don't reflect deals where other teams are paying a portion of the salary of a traded player (for example rumor is that the LA Galaxy are paying most of Juan Pablo Angel's salary still).
So first I thought I would look at how much each team is spending on player salaries and how it correlates to points earned by each team (I am using total compensation and points per match):
|
Team |
Salary |
PPM |
|
Los Angeles Galaxy |
14,661,978.77 |
1.96 |
|
New York Red Bulls |
13,367,747.37 |
1.22 |
|
Toronto FC |
6,659,618.84 |
0.93 |
|
Vancouver Whitecaps |
4,004,986.38 |
0.81 |
|
Chivas USA |
3,924,919.30 |
1.11 |
|
Philadelphia Union |
3,569,981.17 |
1.33 |
|
Columbus Crew |
3,551,414.79 |
1.48 |
|
Sporting Kansas City |
3,515,259.06 |
1.43 |
|
Houston Dynamo |
3,492,155.24 |
1.25 |
|
DC United |
3,475,415.17 |
1.36 |
|
Seattle Sounders |
3,400,133.23 |
1.71 |
|
FC Dallas |
3,330,729.00 |
1.64 |
|
Real Salt Lake |
3,321,694.76 |
1.73 |
|
Colorado Rapids |
3,173,078.72 |
1.41 |
|
New England Revolution |
2,947,386.34 |
0.96 |
|
San Jose Earthquakes |
2,853,603.71 |
1.07 |
|
Portland Timbers |
2,690,690.92 |
1.22 |
|
Chicago Fire |
2,465,449.76 |
1.00 |
As you can see salary doesn't equal points as two of the top spending teams in MLS are averaging under 1.00 points per match, and only one of the bottom 4 spending teams is below that mark.
after the jump a look at how the salary numbers for Real Salt Lake look:
So here are the reported numbers for the guys on the RSL roster:
|
Name |
Base |
Total |
|
Christopher Agorsor |
$32,604.00 |
$32,604.00 |
|
Jean Alexandre |
$42,000.00 |
$42,000.00 |
|
Arturo Alvarez |
$192,585.00 |
$201,922.50 |
|
Paulo Araujo Jr |
$42,000.00 |
$42,000.00 |
|
Cody Arnoux |
$65,400.00 |
$71,650.00 |
|
Kyle Beckerman |
$219,996.00 |
$231,246.00 |
|
Anthony Beltran |
$100,000.00 |
$135,500.00 |
|
Nat Borchers |
$159,996.00 |
$169,058.50 |
|
Fabian Espindola |
$75,000.00 |
$75,000.00 |
|
Luis Gil |
$90,250.00 |
$185,333.33 |
|
Nelson Gonzalez |
$42,008.00 |
$42,008.00 |
|
Ned Grabavoy |
$118,125.00 |
$118,125.00 |
|
Will Johnson |
$225,000.00 |
$225,000.00 |
|
Rauwshan McKenzie |
$42,000.00 |
$42,000.00 |
|
Tim Melia |
$42,000.00 |
$42,000.00 |
|
Javier Morales |
$400,000.00 |
$452,500.00 |
|
Jamison Olave |
$124,992.00 |
$174,992.00 |
|
Kyle Reynish |
$50,000.00 |
$58,304.00 |
|
Nick Rimando |
$150,000.00 |
$158,250.00 |
|
Robbie Russell |
$128,250.00 |
$134,001.43 |
|
Alvaro Saborio |
$250,000.00 |
$305,625.00 |
|
Chris Schuler |
$32,600.00 |
$32,600.00 |
|
Donny Toia |
$45,000.00 |
$60,000.00 |
|
Wagner Blake |
$42,000.00 |
$42,000.00 |
|
Collen Warner |
$42,000.00 |
$55,750.00 |
|
Andy Williams |
$99,225.00 |
$99,225.00 |
|
Chris Wingert |
$135,000.00 |
$135,000.00 |
So to me there are a couple of real values, Chris Schuler jumps off the page as a guy who needs a performance based raise next year, as he has stepped in a number of times and delivered in a big way. Then there is Nick Rimando, who I know redid his contract recently but still seems a bit underpaid to me. I also have to say that Fabian Espindola seems as if he might be deserving a raise based on his incredible workrate if for no other reason.
Overpaid, well the only name that I see that looks a bit out of normal would be Arturo Alvarez, but without know how much might still be paid by some other team, it is hard to judge. Who is your best bargain on the RSL roster? Who if anyone do you think is overpaid?
I think there are some interesting numbers on both the league and team lists, you can check out the complete lists online via the players union (Click Here). Take a look and tell me who is the biggest bargain in MLS, and who is the most overpaid?
OFF MY SOAPBOX