Kent Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 8:17 PM, SthMelbRed said: Yay! More fucking complicated rules around MLS salary cap and player contracts! Exactly. It's ridiculous. MLS: "We have to have a salary cap to protect owners from over spending themselves into oblivion and the league collapsing" Also MLS: "Here is another rule that allows owners to pay some more players above the cap." I'm not up to date on all the rules, but 3 DPs, 1 (or 2? or more?) TAM players, 3 of these U22 players, I think Homegrowns don't count towards the cap but could be mistaken, I don't understand GAM enough to know if it fits in this category or not. When your salary cap is $4.9 million but the lowest spending team spends a hair over $5 million, and the highest spending team spends more than 5 times that much, and the average is over $8 million, do you really need that salary cap? (Source for those numbers: https://soccerprime.com/mls-player-salary/ Shway, Bison44, A_Gagne and 2 others 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Expected back playing for TFC by April or May: https://www.tsn.ca/ayo-akinola-nick-househ-toronto-fc-injury-progress-1.1749044 Edgewater17, Corazon, dyslexic nam and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Kent said: When your salary cap is $4.9 million but the lowest spending team spends a hair over $5 million, and the highest spending team spends more than 5 times that much, and the average is over $8 million, do you really need that salary cap? (Source for those numbers: https://soccerprime.com/mls-player-salary/ When you want to keep the rank and file guys down low on the pay scale you do. They still seem to have it in their head the philosophy of letting teams blow whatever they want on the top 4-5 guys (bring in stars) then spend 4mil on the rest of the roster. Maybe average 200k per guy. But as far as the cap keeping things even, or keeping teams from overspending its a complete joke. Kent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer21 Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 6 hours ago, Kent said: Exactly. It's ridiculous. MLS: "We have to have a salary cap to protect owners from over spending themselves into oblivion and the league collapsing" Also MLS: "Here is another rule that allows owners to pay some more players above the cap." I'm not up to date on all the rules, but 3 DPs, 1 (or 2? or more?) TAM players, 3 of these U22 players, I think Homegrowns don't count towards the cap but could be mistaken, I don't understand GAM enough to know if it fits in this category or not. When your salary cap is $4.9 million but the lowest spending team spends a hair over $5 million, and the highest spending team spends more than 5 times that much, and the average is over $8 million, do you really need that salary cap? (Source for those numbers: https://soccerprime.com/mls-player-salary/ I think it was probably necessary when the league started but it’s a bit ridiculous now. Most markets have big enough fan bases now that they are sustainable, they don’t need a salary cap. Kent and Shway 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 7 hours ago, Bison44 said: When you want to keep the rank and file guys down low on the pay scale you do. They still seem to have it in their head the philosophy of letting teams blow whatever they want on the top 4-5 guys (bring in stars) then spend 4mil on the rest of the roster. Maybe average 200k per guy. But as far as the cap keeping things even, or keeping teams from overspending its a complete joke. Yeah, this is exactly it. They want to nickel and dime the guys on the bottom end of the pay scale, but just willy nilly give another million to the guys on the top end of the pay scale. The thing that's most frustrating is that if teams spent the same money they are spending now, but spread it around more, the teams could be better. I'm certain if they had done this let's say 10 years back MLS teams would have won the CCL a few times by now. Club Linesman, Nello and Ruffian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 MLS doesn’t have, and never has had, a salary cap. It’s a salary budget, and the distinction is an important one because it’s much more in line with a soft “cap” seen in other leagues (NBA, MLB) than what a true salary cap would be. Please note that I’m not advocating for or against this practice, just saying that recognizing the distinction makes absorbing this stuff easier. Bison44 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 1 minute ago, RS said: MLS doesn’t, and never has had, a salary cap. It’s a salary budget, and the distinction is an important one because it’s much more in line with a soft “cap” seen in other leagues (NBA, MLB) than what a true salary cap would be. Please note that I’m not advocating for or against this practice, just saying that recognizing the distinction makes absorbing this stuff easier. It doesn't make it easier for me. I understand that it's a budget, and that the $4.9 million in salary comes from the league instead of the owners. But whatever you want to call it, they restrict how you can spend your money, without restricting how much money you can spend, which makes no sense. It's basically mandating wealth inequality within teams (although teams can choose to do without the high end players) and prevents teams from building the best team they can for their money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 11 minutes ago, Kent said: It doesn't make it easier for me. I understand that it's a budget, and that the $4.9 million in salary comes from the league instead of the owners. But whatever you want to call it, they restrict how you can spend your money, without restricting how much money you can spend, which makes no sense. It's basically mandating wealth inequality within teams (although teams can choose to do without the high end players) and prevents teams from building the best team they can for their money. You’re not wrong, and it’s something that will become a bigger point of contention as more owners willing to spend money come into the league. I don’t foresee the restrictions ever fully going away (because North America), which means we’ll see more and more of these “loophole” regulations spring up over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer21 Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 9 minutes ago, RS said: You’re not wrong, and it’s something that will become a bigger point of contention as more owners willing to spend money come into the league. I don’t foresee the restrictions ever fully going away (because North America), which means we’ll see more and more of these “loophole” regulations spring up over time. If the MLS ever wants to compete globally, they’ll have to get rid of the restrictions. I don’t know long it will take for Americans to be that ambitious, but it will happen eventually. dyslexic nam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffian Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Kent said: Yeah, this is exactly it. They want to nickel and dime the guys on the bottom end of the pay scale, but just willy nilly give another million to the guys on the top end of the pay scale. The thing that's most frustrating is that if teams spent the same money they are spending now, but spread it around more, the teams could be better. I'm certain if they had done this let's say 10 years back MLS teams would have won the CCL a few times by now. I agree with this. The corporates think they can get more bums in seats and eyes on TV with star signings. But I think all this does is bring eyes temporarily to the team but not as many long term fans that follow a quality balanced team. If fans viewed the team as a globally competitive team they would follow it more rather than an exhibition spectacle to see a European star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 3 hours ago, archer21 said: If the MLS ever wants to compete globally, they’ll have to get rid of the restrictions. I don’t know long it will take for Americans to be that ambitious, but it will happen eventually. I personally think you'll see the bigger European league implement a cap of some sort before MLS ever gets rid of theirs. footballfreak and Free kick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 UT has brought this up several times..that you have a guy making 7-8mil a season and he is playing with 4-5 guys making 100k is bonkers. Or one guy getting paid more than the entire 30 man roster of the other team. And the roster rules keep getting more convoluted..why not shit can some of those rules, raise the salary "budget" to 8-10mil and let the chips fall where they may. Raise the level of quality of the bottom end of the roster as well as bring in stars. Kent, Sal333 and baulderdash77 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmen Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) For those with an Athletic subscription, they tackled this discussion back in December. Essentially: The bottom team spends about $10m and the top about $25m. If you removed all the rules and just put in a floor of $10m and ceiling of $25m, you'd get a better quality league and the league knows it. But, the league doesn't care because what you'd lose is the parity that the league prides itself on. The highest spending team not always winning isn't a "bug" of the system, it's a feature. https://theathletic.com/3009792/2021/12/10/out-of-balance-as-2021-ends-mls-continues-to-show-that-improving-quality-of-play-isnt-top-priority/ Edited January 23, 2022 by Watchmen footballfreak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 But how is it parity when one or two teams spends twice as much as the others? A bug chunk of the teams are spending that 10-12mil even with DP signings. I guess MLS have been getting parity of the outcomes, but thats more of the quirky nature of sport that money cant always buy you wins or championships. But the rules themselves fully allow the big spending clubs every advantage to seperate themselves from the rest with the pocketbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) On 1/20/2022 at 8:17 PM, SthMelbRed said: Yay! More fucking complicated rules around MLS salary cap and player contracts! For what it's worth, this is not unique to MLS. NBA has some complex roster building rules as well with "super max" contracts and the like. On 1/22/2022 at 6:37 AM, archer21 said: I think it was probably necessary when the league started but it’s a bit ridiculous now. Most markets have big enough fan bases now that they are sustainable, they don’t need a salary cap. They just need to raise it significantly, which should happen when the big media deal comes in. On 1/22/2022 at 10:10 AM, archer21 said: If the MLS ever wants to compete globally, they’ll have to get rid of the restrictions. I don’t know long it will take for Americans to be that ambitious, but it will happen eventually. Like RS mentioned, I don't think the restrictions will ever go away. However, the key to becoming world class is the cap increasing significantly, which will happen. MLS just wants all the teams to rise with the tide sort of thing. 22 hours ago, Bison44 said: UT has brought this up several times..that you have a guy making 7-8mil a season and he is playing with 4-5 guys making 100k is bonkers. Or one guy getting paid more than the entire 30 man roster of the other team. And the roster rules keep getting more convoluted..why not shit can some of those rules, raise the salary "budget" to 8-10mil and let the chips fall where they may. Raise the level of quality of the bottom end of the roster as well as bring in stars. I had an issue with this as well, especially around the time TFC first came into the league and the David Beckham signing. At that point, it was really bad. Now, while the discrepancy is still there, most teams have players in the starting elevens that make decent coin, everyone on the field is usually making $300,000 USD at least. You can just tell by the quality of play and the foreign heavy line ups. This isn't a league that has guys like Dan Gargan and Ty Harden taking up roster spots anymore. Anyhow, back to the original point, I think when the cap increases to the point where the league minimum is $500,000, DP and regular salary discrepancy will seize becoming an issue. The league has to get to a point where every MLS roster spot results in lucrative pay and I think they are very close to that now. Edited January 23, 2022 by Macksam The Real Marc, Corazon, SoccMan and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbacons Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Still a few more months away, but maybe will be ready for a Nations League call? https://www.tsn.ca/young-toronto-fc-forward-ayo-akinola-says-recovery-from-knee-surgery-is-going-well-1.1757203 Edgewater17, N1ckbr0wn and Shway 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGAA_Star Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Definitely wanna see Ayo take the field and be back on the field for TFC at some point. If he can do that and get healthy, then if he somehow ends up in our Nations League squad, then hopefully he can make a case for himself to be in our Qatar squad for November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Just because he made the switch after being in the US system and playing for them; and then playing for us and being injured almost immediately; and that injury coming on a dirty tackle from the US that the ref did not even call... Therefore: we have to stay loyal to him, because he made a big, bold and brave move for us that in fact hurt a direct rival. He has to be high on the list future call-ups, as long as he's fit, because the last thing we want to do is to betray his loyalty to us. narduch, rkomar, MM3/MM2/MM and 12 others 14 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Injury update johnyb and dyslexic nam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbula17 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 19 minutes ago, narduch said: Injury update Huge if he could be healthy before April, hopefully he can make the impact he made in the MLS is back tourney! narduch, Free kick and toontownman 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyslexic nam Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 2 hours ago, narduch said: Injury update I was hoping he would be a bit further along than that. Hopefully it is just a cautious approach to his recovery and not indicative of a setback that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) On 1/22/2022 at 1:16 PM, Bison44 said: UT has brought this up several times..that you have a guy making 7-8mil a season and he is playing with 4-5 guys making 100k is bonkers. Or one guy getting paid more than the entire 30 man roster of the other team. And the roster rules keep getting more convoluted..why not shit can some of those rules, raise the salary "budget" to 8-10mil and let the chips fall where they may. Raise the level of quality of the bottom end of the roster as well as bring in stars. Are you referring to Major League Baseball or Major League Soccer? That was a tongue in cheek comment on my part. But i am just curious how salary disparities are a bigger problem in MLS than in other sports. Granted, the entry level is bit low in MLS in my opinion, yes, i agree with that. But even if you raise it, its never going to close the disparity gap and you will still see cases of one guy getting paid more than the entire 30 man roster of the other team. Back in the day, you would see this with the Yankees and Red sox versus the Pittsbugh Pirates and Montreal expos Edited February 25, 2022 by Free kick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Approve My Account Pls Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 johnyb and toontownman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontownman Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Hope this guy comes back stronger. Such a great story, he and his family fought through lots already. Inching closer to a return! johnyb, dyslexic nam, Addona and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 I am excited to see Akinola back, but when he returns he'll have a lot to prove. At club level Toronto look to have acquired a pretty good player in Jimenez and if he's in goal scoring form Akinola won't be gifted his spot, so there's going to be a battle there. Kind of hard to even speak to his NT chances if he's not the starting 9 at Toronto, but assuming he can displace Jimenez he'll have to contend with Cavallini and Ugbo for a Qatar spot. I don't believe for a second Herdman is going to carry David, Larin, Ugbo, Cavallini AND Akinola. If all of these forwards are available, 1 of Akinola, Ugbo or Cavallini is going to miss out, and if Jebbison commits for this cycle (unlikely imo) things become even harder for Akinola. He needs to have a big season, plain and simple. Metro, Corazon, Xavier. and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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