Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union have yet to reach an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the wheels are already in motion for a work stoppage.
The Players Union is preparing its members for a strike on Monday if a new CBA cannot be agreed to in the current negotiations, which are being overseen by a federal mediator. Sources confirmed the strike preparations to SBI on Wednesday. A Monday strike would come four days before the 2010 MLS season is supposed to kick off in Seattle with the Sounders facing expansion side Philadelphia Union.
If this scenario sounds familiar, it is because it is the same scenario I laid out in a Fox Soccer column last month.
There is still hope of avoiding a strike as MLS and the Players Union are currently in Washington D.C. negotiating. If no deal is reached before Monday, a strike will take place, and as I stated in today's Fox Soccer column, a strike would be devastating to a league in danger of losing precious momentum.
Stay tuned for any MLS labor battle news as it becomes available.
So you would invest more money into an investment that at this time is loosing? Let’s be honest no one would. Owners need to see the black before they can even justify a player raise. Saying we are in the red, but the future of a league in a country that thinks the sport is a game for kids, owners should still fork over more money because the teams may increase in value , but overall still be opperating in the red is bad economics. It’s the reason why so many Americans are in so much debt. Stop thinking of the owners as cash cows and put yourself in there shoes. No sane person would increase player salaries. And by the way the league is still loosing money. Don’t know where you heard otherwise.
How about the balance of the teams?
Even without the ability to spend a lot more than another team on a player, certain teams will attract the best players a lot more than others. Do you think a player from Europe wants to play for Real Salt Lake?
Alright, I guess I have to do it again! That is, actually explain that my post was sarcastic! You would think that if you read all of it that that would be obvious. There’s even a comment telling someone that my post was sarcastic, and still there are more people taking it dead serious. Some of you guys take all of the fun out of sarcasm!:)
Not on stadium revenue. Ticket sales bring in around $14 million for the League, and player expenses account for $9 million. In reality, the league will lose a lot more.
Jess, yes it is fair. Why don’t you compare and contrast the revenue base of each of those sports.
The players are foolish if they strike.
That would be the problem. Ely Allen made 12 appearances for the LA Galaxy. The average attendance during the 2008 season was 26,009. The average ticket price was around $22.90 (and I’m being intentionally conservative, because the Galaxy ticket price was around $36).
That’s $7,147,273 of revenue generated in games that Ely Allen played for the Galaxy. The League argued that developmental contracts were for keeping some summer practice players around for training during the year. Instead, Allen, and many others, were given developmental contracts despite being high-level draft picks (in Allen’s case, 21st).
Furthermore, this whole “MLS owners losing tons of money” thing is being over-sold. Yes, most franchises take annual operating losses. However, the League has made a handsome profit from franchise sales and the associated United Soccer Marketing made $23 million on TV revenue broadcasting MLS games, and only $1 million of that was returned to the owners to cover operating costs.
Most sports teams operate at a loss. As long as the value of the franchise increases over time, and the marketing rights increase over time, profitability can grow exponentially without additional in-stadium ticket sales. This is the financial reality of the MLS right now. They have a very bright future, and I think it’s natural for the players to want a little more share in that future.
Welp, it was good while it lasted. Ya died too young MLS, ya died too young. Now, who’s gonna do the eugoogooly?
Cutting and pasting the exact same post from previous threads doesn’t make the argument any more sound.
Picking and choosing only the numbers you want to look at is like reading every 5th word in a book.
Thank you for making an argument for the players…most revenue in sports comes from the TV deals…look at those TV deals…wow MLS is minor league in every way.
Also NFL only doesn’t have a cap for this season coming up…its a one season thing…they usually have a hard cap
that is supposed to say “big bump IN salary cap”
I still have yet to see how free agency under a hard salary cap can hurt the league or teams.
What is funny is the one thing that the owners won’t budge on is free agency, which has nothing to do with money. Yet, all the owners are talking about losing money.
People comparing it to demanding a move with in a company is not a good comparison, and untrue. A better comparison would be a section of a company doesn’t want you anymore and are going to lay you off, but another department says hey we can use that guy. He has the skill set we are needing right now. I don’t know a company that wouldn’t let that guy move, especially if the can renegotiate his wages. Free Agency with in a single entity in that form does exist and happens all the time.
Owners talk about losing money. Take away a big bump and salary cap and guaranteed contracts and offer free agency.End of story negotiation over.
I have already lost respect for the league regarding the Donovan situation, and now I will lose even more if a strike happens. The league’s play and identity is not good enough to warrant a stoppage. I have season tickets for Red Bull Arena and want to go. Am extremely excited to go.
But, I want to make a comment. Blame lies everywhere. Someone posted above that it’s ridiculous to blame companies for making products that people want to buy, even if they can’t afford it. Well, the truth is, companies spend billions of dollars learning how to manipulate consumers while consumers spend zero dollars learning how to deflect predatorial company marketing. There is always a part to play by all sides.
The league and the players will be to blame for the strike. The league, LA, and Donovan are to blame for the fact that he isn’t at Everton now where he belongs. Some of this is off-topic, but the ideology has applications.
Living by dollars and cents alone is short term thinking. True visionaries can know when dollars and cents are affected by intangible acts. Acts like changing Red Bull Arena from a multi-purpose venue that would have hosted all kinds of concerts and other events to get as much money as possible, to a stadium that will host very few events in order to keep the soccer genuine and the focus of the stadium. And, the benefits of an act that isn’t about dollars and cents will probably become successful because of things greater than numbers alone.
It is food for thought for both the players and league. Maybe some sacrifices need to be made that may, on paper, look bad. But, create a brand and image that increasing the standing and revenue of the league and players in the long run.
No but I would watch usl players fill In for them. My point is that until a league can make money it is rediculous to ask to ask for an increase in pay. Players need to remember how much money these owners are loosing right now. That being said, players that are cut and are not getting paid should be allowed to look for another team to play for. Teams holding the rights to a cut player is unbelivable.
well with all do respect the last thing MLS should do is become like baseball. I haven’t watche a single game since highschool and that was more than ten years ago.
See the problem with this argument is its not the ones giving up something that are complaining, if the teams where complaining that they gave up a second round draft pick for this player then you’d have more of an argument but they aren’t. If this player is worth trade value then a deal can be made, it’s not a debt we are trading asset for asset, the supreme court heard it and decided that it did not suffice.
Uh Willardo, speaking of deciding whether or not to reply…
I’m not saying that the previous manager/dept couldn’t replace you when you leave, I’m saying that the new manager/dept is not responsible for providing a replacement for you when you leave, the old dept has to find the replacement themselves. Please, correct me if I’m wrong.
Basically, in your version of my analogy, with free agency, if a player were to leave in free agency, the former team would lose a roster spot. Uh, if that’s what the players were proposing, then yes, I would be against it.
TBH, I regretted putting the ‘moving while under contract’ reply in there as soon as I posted it, because in this case, it’s totally unrelated, and it just muddies the argument. Free agency in the case of MLS applies to players out of contract – former employees, not current ones.
I don’t see why people think it makes sense to compensate a former team for a player who has no real obligation to the team. If anything, it encourages players to leave the league, since the player could go to another league without having to compensate the former team, but if he wanted to stay in the league, the former team would have to be compensated, thus the players bargaining power is reduced only when staying in the league.
Oy. Comments like this make me shake my head. The US constitution does not provide us rights. It outlines what the roles and responsibilities of the US govt. Many were against the Bill of Rights because it was unnecessary and redundant to outline what are our rights. The constitution spoke to the limitations of government. Unfortunately your comment only serves to highlight our current predicament on this country where government seems to have no limits.
Show the owners? This isnt going to ‘show’ the owners anything. They are just going to move on to some other business and not waste money on something that many of them got into because they are passionate about.
Greedy owners? This is America. Were everyone has the opportunity to be a ‘greedy’ owner and make all the money they want.
I don’t feel sorry for any of these players, who most of which (even with these low salaries) make more than I did at their age, that get to play soccer for a living. If they feel so mistreated then can get a real job or get good enough at soccer to play in Europe.
The players are like the guy who cant get what he wants from his girlfriend so he tries to kill them both by driving off a cliff. The funny part is he (the players) dies and she (the owners) lives and goes on about her life.
Like I said, I spent $5,700 on a group of front row tickets for my family. Remember, us Utahns have big families.
I have a lot of front row tickets.
I also looked up my CC statement and spent over 1K on MLS gear over the last year. Not just RSL, but I also have DCU and Galaxy (beckham 23 for wife, she loves her some Beckham; and a plain one for me 😉 jerseys.
I have read over a lot of these comments, and I think I have distilled why I am placing blame with the players.
1- the players knew/know that MLS is single entity when they signed the contract, and single entity prevents free agentcy. If you don’t believe me, look up American Apperal V. NFL, which is currently being reviewed by the US supreme court. If MLS gives free agency, they lose single entity protection, and would be open to Sherman Act Anti-trust type litigation. That would sink the league.
2- when their contracts have been fulfilled, they are free to go find another company to work for.
It just happens that MLS is setup like a single company. So, they can go to USL/NASL or the FMF, or elsewhere.
3- it is the players choosing to strike. They are not being locked out.
Please quit posted this crap we have seen it before and it’s a flawed argument. MLS players work for a company that cant even be compared to MLB or NHL moreless NBA or NFL. The salary of the executives means nothing. Plus the MLS has conceded more pay for the player and the players are trying to change the fundamental foundations of the league.
Screw the players. They’re ingrates! They can all go to he…..er….the USL!
If you DCU fail/won’t resign me and then say others who want to sign me must compensate DCU, that sure looks like a debt. In fact the Supreme Court thought it was a good argument and listened to the Curt Flood case and 3 jurists found it convincing.
Yea yea okay makes sense, balls that sucks. I bet this situation must be pretty unique though? I wonder when the last time a top tier fifa certified league went on strike?
One way to address the free agency/rights of first refusal issue is to have the league provide automatic supplemental draft pick and/or allocation money compensation for the loss of a player to another team when they are out of contract. The team gets compensation, but can’t hold up a deal with the other club. It doesn’t threaten the single entity structure at all.
Actually, Ely Allen makes nothing from MLS since he was waived. Using the developmental salaries is just a dumb thing to do. They are more like paid internships than an actual job. The goal is to try to make a good impression in order to land a senior roster spot. Most of these players last one year and prove they aren’t good enough to be D1 soccer players and move on. The number of players from 2 years ago that are still in the league is probably somewhere around 5% (though it could be slightly higher).
How many quality players that people come to see have ever been ‘let go’ by MLS?
I’m waiting………….
he goes on strike with his teammates, I assume. what did you think would happen to him?
I agree. I can’t conceive of either the owners or players producing a quality soccer entity in the USA after an MLS collapse. It would take years, maybe a decade.
This makes as much sense as any of the rest of it. Blame NY!
FIFA won’t certify a league that allows players to play there when another league owns their rights. think about it, it would be absolute chaos if players could just walk across a border and join another league at a whim.
there is no American Football federation that governs the NFL and the CFL, or Baseball. Basketball has such an agreement.
Seriously though, you paid a third of the annual salary of Ely Allen for your season ticket. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? First, why are you paying so much to watch Ely Allen? Second, what does that say about your perception of value? Maybe it’s best if you attend some USL games for awhile so that you get some sense of what a great deal you’re getting for your money.
Ely Allen may be bad, but I watched the Raging Rhinos for a year and, all things considered, I don’t want to spend the summer suffering so that MLS can continue to pay the minimum wage to players that have consistently gotten better and better, year after year.
a strike doesn’t end contracts that are currently in force. it just suspends them until the work stoppage is over. as long as MLS exists, they own the rights to every player currently under contract for the duration of those contracts. Donovan is under contract to MLS, he can walk away from that contract if he’d like (strike, retirement) but he’s not free to play in any FIFA league in the world until his contract expires or MLS lets him go.
I don’t know that the courts validated your argument in the Curt Flood case, perhaps they did. But in the end baseball went to free agency.
You’re asking the wrong question. What you should be asking is whether you’d go see a soccer match featuring players pulled at random from the nation’s unemployed.
If not, do you think it’s too much to ask MLS to pay people who perform for audiences paying upwards of $35 a ticket more than minimum wage? I mean, Ely Allen makes $15,300, and although I think he’s crap, I’d still give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s better at soccer than my local burger flipper (In case you’re wondering, I wouldn’t pay $35 to see my local burger flipper flip burgers).
I can’t decide weather or not to waste my time replying to you. In any major corporation there is compensation. If I allow one of my employees to go, I always demand from the new manager a hiring rec. If I don’t get a hiring rec I don’t let my people go. It’s silly for me to let someone walk without a replacement. This is par for the course. That is also compensation. Perhaps in some other loose knit organizations you can have what you’re talking about — perhaps consulting, but most firms are not consulting firms. Are you a people manager at all? I can’t imagine letting one of my people go without something in return.
Curt Flood took his case to the Supreme Court, lost 5-3, but shortly there-after free agency was awarded.
The best result would be that both sides concede something because everyone could lose in a court case.
“Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time,[8] he likened the reserve clause to slavery; it was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.[citation needed] Among those testifying on his behalf were former players Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg, and former owner Bill Veeck;”
Where did you get these numbers? That is crazy. Garber makes more than each team can spend? What a joke.
can I ask, are you a season ticket holder? do you subscribe to Direct Kick? buy a new jersey every season? watch every MLS match on TV? cause you seem to want other people to spend lots of money for your enjoyment, which is fine, but remember that there’s a price for all those things, and in the bigger leagues, fans are the ones that pay it. priced tickets to Old Trafford lately?
Not done deal. He has to find the financing. If he cannot find it, no stadium. Who is going to finance an unstable league?
This is where I stand. They players cannot have everything they’re asking for, nor can the league have their way on everything. But to think that 15 years was the magic point at which the league can start giving out more and more rights is absurd. The Arena Football League went bankrupt because it tried to spend millions upon millions for the players like it was the NBA and NFL. They suffered for it. If MLS does that, you can pencil their name in history books right next to NASL.
That said, I do think that the league should be able to grant some sort of limited free agency for out-of-contract players. Being able to hold onto a player’s rights despite not having a contract is draconian.
For them to be indentured servants they would have to owe a debt. Besides, you choose indentured servitude to pay off your debt, so what debt do these guys owe?
I mean really I just don’t get why you guys try to explain it this way, it doesn’t make sense, these players knowingly and willingly signed a contract, you can’t really defend that.
A strike will be the death of MLS. Baseball and hockey were more popular than soccer is now when their respective work stoppages occured, and the arguement can be made (certainly for hockey) that both sports still have yet to fully recover.
This also coming in a World Cup year where MLS generally benefits from the attention soccer gets from ESPN/ABC. In a World Cup year where ESPN is going to have unprecedented amounts of coverage.
Don’t kid yourselves. If MLS does strike, right or wrong, it’s the European game that’s going to benefit in the US, not the domestic game. I hope the players and owners can stand on their perceived high moral ground as they watch the league die.
I think that there was discussion of a time table of allowing returning players rights to expire bu I’m not sure, but also they can ask for a trade, its not like teams are like ” I don’t like this guy lets screw him” It’s a business things aren’t always fair, I hate my manager but I can either deal with it, find a new job, work it out, or find another part of the company to transfer to.
“Perhaps the players should take this to court, not arbitration.”
You’re joking right? They already took it to court and LOST.
I have responded to those before. According to those stats MLS players are overpaid when compaired to the other leagues. As a percentage of revenue, they make way more the players in the NFL NBA MLB or NHL. (by just using tv deals). Can’t feel bad for them if they play a sport which could not survive without the owners loosing out big time overall. I also am willing to bey that at least 10% of the US work force would love and jump at the ability to take the lowest paid players salary.
Clueless turned up to meter on 12.
I am admittedly an idiot.
YES YOU DO!!!
*aren’t