The MLS Player’s Union has announced that the New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo will split the winning and second-place purses for the SuperLiga final (set for Tuesday at Gillette Stadium) in a show of solidarity.
"The players have made this decision to show their solidarity and in protest of the league’s violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with respect to the negotiation of bonuses for this tournament."
MLS Players Union Statement
How much money are we talking? The winning player’s share for the SuperLiga final is $150,000, with the second-place share being $100,000. Now the team’s will each receive $125,000.
MLS commissioner Don Garber has already stated his unhappiness with the MLS player’s union turning the SuperLiga bonus structure into a public talking point, calling it a negotiation ploy, and Garber also pointed out recently that while the publicized winner’s share for the tournament is $1 million, Pachuca players received $300,000 of it last year, not the entire $1 million.
I’m all for players being paid more money but I’m still trying to figure out why it took a full year for the player’s union to raise a ruckus over it. Wasn’t it just as absurd a figure a year ago?
You can add it to the long list of things the player’s union will need to fight for when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after the 2009 season. Those negotiations are going to be REAL interesting.
Now, about tomorrow night’s SuperLiga final. Do any fans plan on actually going to a final their teams don’t appear all that interested in playing in? I can’t imagine the game isn’t going to still be a good one (let’s face it, if you’re Houston and you’ve been smacked by the Revs by a combined score of 5-0 in two meetings this year I think you might have a point to prove), but you also wonder just how intense the game will actually be.
What do you think? Will you be watching the game? Do you think the player’s are being mistreated by receiving such a figuratively low bonus for the tournament? Should some consideration be given to MLS and Soccer United Marketing, which are footing the costs and taking the financial risks in holding the tournament? Should the tournament just go away after this year?
Share your thoughts below.