Alistair Johnston

[SoccMan]

8 minutes ago, shorty said:

AJ strikes me as the type of guy who would be doing just fine financially and professionally even if football hadn't worked out.  Maybe not half a million a year fine, but fine. 

Given that, I'm not sure I agree with the notion that ~700K isn't enough to be well off.  Sure, athletes are front-end loading their income, but it's not as though he will have $0 income beyond his footballing days.  Plus, even if he only got $700K for three years, that's equivalent to 20-25 years worth of teaching at the top of the grid in only three years; equivalent to almost 8-10 years as an assistant deputy minister in some Ministries.

Give me 700, 000 a year for the next 5 years and these MLS guys get paid in American , and let me see if I can make a go of it living in Canada lol .

[InglewoodJack]

20 minutes ago, shorty said:

AJ strikes me as the type of guy who would be doing just fine financially and professionally even if football hadn't worked out.  Maybe not half a million a year fine, but fine. 

Given that, I'm not sure I agree with the notion that ~700K isn't enough to be well off.  Sure, athletes are front-end loading their income, but it's not as though he will have $0 income beyond his footballing days.  Plus, even if he only got $700K for three years, that's equivalent to 20-25 years worth of teaching at the top of the grid in only three years; equivalent to almost 8-10 years as an assistant deputy minister in some Ministries.

It's certainly not nothing, I'm more thinking about what that money would look like post playing career, ie in 15 years. Say the "worst" case does happen for him- Montreal pays him ~700k for the next 4-5 years, he doesn't live up to the deal, and by age 28-29 he's either in the CPL or coaching university somewhere, making what people would consider a middle class wage. He'll probably make about $1-2M more than if he risked it (most drastic scenario in which he makes 500k more in MLS than europe which is highly unlikely), went to europe, didn't really pan out, and ended up back in Canada by the time he was 30. Then, take his salary, chop it in half for taxes, take a bit more for agency fee, and what's left is probably around 750k net. That wouldn't even buy him a house in his hometown of Vancouver, nor his adopted hometowns of Toronto or Montreal's west island. So with that, the question for me is, as one of canada's most promising young players who's already tasted the big stage, do you risk it, go to europe and see how far it takes you, or do you play it safe so you can put a down payment on a nice, suburban home in the GTA? I don't know that many professional athletes would choose the latter option. Not to mention, considering how costs increase over the years, setting himself up for the future means saving up 2022 dollars to then spend them in 2040. a few million dollars, in Canada, in 15-20 years is not going to change much, unfortunately, at least not enough to sacrifice a potential move to Europe. Even a guy like Osorio makes just above a minimum NHL salary, and so many minimum guys get "real" jobs post-playing, for example.

Edited April 19, 2022 by InglewoodJack

[Mitchryan11]

25 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

Give me 700, 000 a year for the next 5 years and these MLS guys get paid in American , and let me see if I can make a go of it living in Canada lol .

Lol Im willing to bet after agent fees and everything else its a lot less then their contract

[The Real Marc]

Chris Pronger of hockey fame had a twitter thread a while back breaking down rough take-home pay from a 5$ million contract. While it was a fraction of the overall contract value, it wasn't chump change either - and a lot of the waste was put down to players over-spending and having high-end tastes.

1 hour ago, Mitchryan11 said:

Lol Im willing to bet after agent fees and everything else its a lot less then their contract

 

[Craig11rm]

I think Hockey players deserve more money than Soccer players because of the danger factor. If I were a parent I would definitely prefer my kid to play soccer over hockey. Also is having to work post sports career such a bad thing?

I think AJ is at a good level for his development right now but I hope he can make a move to Europe after the World Cup. He’s one of my favourite players for sure and I think he is a big part of our teams tactical flexibility when he shifts from the RCB in a back 3 to a RB in a back 4. I haven’t watched too much Montreal but when I did I saw him at RWB and I didn’t understand. Why not put ZBG there and AJ at RCB? 

[The Beaver 2.0]

And, for what it is worth, Alistair has a degree in commerce (or was it economics?)  Not that this is any guarantee that he'll be wise with his money, but I get the feeling the kid's got a good head on his shoulders.  And, if he has anything of a long career in MLS and with the Nats, then I think a broadcaster might pick him up when he's retired.  He's great in an interview--I mean, really, really good--and I am sure we'd all agree he'd be an upgrade on Caldwell. 

So, that's my useless, mostly off topic, two-and-a-half cents. (Inflation).

[SoccMan]

22 hours ago, Mitchryan11 said:

Lol Im willing to bet after agent fees and everything else its a lot less then their contract

A lot less I doubt it , I think a guy like Osorio is very close to a million Canadian a year, not bad for a guy who basically spent most of his time growing up playing youth soccer here in the Toronto area . I don’t think he spent more than two years in South America in an academy over there , I think it was at 18 to around 20 years old that he spent down there before coming back and playing a season in what was then a sanctioned CSL which was more or less what league1 Ontario is now . Then he goes to try out for TFC and sticks there and the rest is history. The guy is basically set for life after he retires , not bad at all.

[Cheeta]

On 4/19/2022 at 12:57 PM, Mitchryan11 said:

Lol Im willing to bet after agent fees and everything else its a lot less then their contract

It's REALLY hard to compare apples to apples on these contracts in different jurisdictions.

In the UK wages are/were after tax.  Of course, not so in Canada or the US.

Also, don't assume the tax regiment in Europe is overwhelming.  Hutch spent his time in Denmark in a catagory which exempted him from tax for a period.  Up to five years at the time I think?

If I'm not mistaken agent fees are incurred by the club in UEFA.  The club pays that slice atop of the players wages or transfer fees.  Also not so in Canada although those fees may be tax deductible, don't know.

Don't stay on top of these things so may be out of date but point stands, not apples to apples.

 

 

[narduch]

Just score to put Montreal up 2-0 over Charlotte 

[narduch]

 

[cronaldo7]

A tidy, hard-tackling RB that can strike a ball  

[TGAA_Star]

9 hours ago, narduch said:

 

Hope to see more of that from him in Qatar

[yomurphy1]

8 hours ago, cronaldo7 said:

A tidy, hard-tackling RB that can strike a ball  

I think he'd be solid in a CDM role.

[Kadenge]

2 hours ago, yomurphy1 said:

I think he'd be solid in a CDM role.

that's an interesting take. Especially if we go with a back 4 v 3

Edited May 15, 2022 by Kadenge

[toontownman]

Just now, Kadenge said:

that's an interesting take.

He did play there prior to MLS didn't he?

I am excited to see how his brother does next year. Alistair thinks he is much better than he was at his age. 

[Cheeta]

19 hours ago, narduch said:

 

Beauty.

[narduch]

Made MLS team of the week 

 

[Bison44]

On 4/18/2022 at 6:16 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

I'd be surprised if he's on more than 175k this. year. As high as 225k?

That is the sort of salary you could pull as an outside back in top flight Norway, we are not talking about anything over the top.

 

445k is the correct answer.  

Hate to be the Mr Parrot kind of guy but here goes.  Against the popularly held beliefs/group think around here, I correctly predicted Johnstons salary, (even though I was just guessing).  I was widely ridiculed by the usual suspects, bent on perpetuating this pointless divisiveness between MLS/CPL.  Furthermore the moritorium placed on US PDL seriously set back canadian soccer expansion by decades.... post war immigration...paper the house...i never said i loved the USL...and finally....MLS reserve teams are the answer to all our prayers, wait what was this thread about again???? 

Oh yeah, good for you Alistar...you are worth every penny!!!  Dont spend it all in one place.  

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

He will miss the trip to Curaçao in March 2023; he will NOT miss a World Cup match due to the red card.

 

[Admin]

Anyone in Ontario go to a Rainbow theater? 

The opening message for the theater (turn your phones off and stuff).... 

Guy looks like Alister Johnson.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 5/17/2022 at 12:55 PM, Bison44 said:

445k is the correct answer.  

Hate to be the Mr Parrot kind of guy but here goes.  Against the popularly held beliefs/group think around here, I correctly predicted Johnstons salary, (even though I was just guessing).  I was widely ridiculed by the usual suspects, bent on perpetuating this pointless divisiveness between MLS/CPL.  Furthermore the moritorium placed on US PDL seriously set back canadian soccer expansion by decades.... post war immigration...paper the house...i never said i loved the USL...and finally....MLS reserve teams are the answer to all our prayers, wait what was this thread about again???? 

Oh yeah, good for you Alistar...you are worth every penny!!!  Dont spend it all in one place.  

I suppose the transfer to Montreal brought with it the salary increase. 

I am glad I am wrong, that is a good sum, in US dollars in Montreal to boot. 

It also makes a move to Europe harder unless he is moving to a significantly higher level. 

[InglewoodJack]

Gotta think as much as I like him, AJ’s a couple years away from flirting with Europe- feel like his chance to go to was last year, but mixed with his salary and his solid but not elite play, not sure what types of opportunities are available for him. I heard he may have a British (could be Irish?) passport which might facilitate things for him, but I hope he stays at Montreal and takes a leap or something before going abroad.

[TOcanadafan]

I have a feeling his upcoming performances in Qatar will get him on some European radars.

[Jack1997]

I don’t see him as a wing back as he plays on Montreal in Europe as he’s not offensive enough but I think he could make it as outside CB in a back 3 which is where he maybe shines in Qatar?

[costarg]

16 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Gotta think as much as I like him, AJ’s a couple years away from flirting with Europe- feel like his chance to go to was last year, but mixed with his salary and his solid but not elite play, not sure what types of opportunities are available for him. I heard he may have a British (could be Irish?) passport which might facilitate things for him, but I hope he stays at Montreal and takes a leap or something before going abroad.

Agreed.  Two more issues keeping him back:

- He's Canadian, as we've seen with Laryea, it's still a bit of a crutch if your name is not Davies. 

- He doesn't have the typical preferred build for a CB in EU, just an inch or two missing for the scouts to pounce.  Same can be said for Crepeau.