Major League Soccer has just announced that, effective immediately, all teams will have two Designated Player slots and all teams will be allowed to purchase a third Designated Player slot.
No, this is NOT an April Fool's Joke.
According to the new guidelines, teams can have two Designated Players on their roster, with each player counting $335,000 against the salary cap. A third Designated Player slot can be purchased by any team for a cost of $250,000, with that money being dispersed among all teams that don't have three Designated Players (a third DP would also count as $335,000 against the team's salary cap). Also, teams can not trade slots, so the maximum any team can have is three Designated Players (The New York Red Bulls will be given a $70,000 allocation as compensation for the Designated Player slot they traded for in 2007).
The changes take effect immediately, meaning teams can theoretically add as many as two more Designated Players before the end of the current MLS transfer window on April 15. Teams that sign a Designated Player during the summer transfer window will only be charged with a $167,500 salary cap hit for the 2010 season for each Designated Player they sign during that period.
So what does this all mean?
It means teams can theoretically have three marquee players taking up $1 million of their salary cap come 2011 (and as low as $500,000 for 2010 if three Designated Players are signed during the summer), but they will have to pay $250,000 for the third slot. That money will be placed in a pool that will be dispersed to teams that don't have a third DP slot. So in theory, if half the league's teams signed three Designated Plyers, then the other eight teams would share a pot of $2,000,000, or $250,000 each that it could use as Allocation Money to spend on signings.
That change is a clever compromise to help appease the teams that are unlikely to sign multiple Designated Players.
The news also means that big-spending clubs such as New York, Los Angeles and Seattle can start getting ready to bring in multiple high-profile stars, which will not only improve the quality of the league, but also force all teams to dip into the Designated Player market. MLS teams will be hard-pressed to justify not using any DP slots when some teams are using as many as three.
What do you think of this dramatic change? Already imagining the players your team might go after? Think
Share your thoughts below.
Except the salary cap hit will be less than it was for LA.
You’re right, I have no clue, seriously I don’t. I feel I need a Harvard doctorate to understand the rules of MLS. But that makes sense thanks.
Not if it leaves your team a perennial loser. I’m hoping this doesn’t happen, but I worry about it.
That would probably give the Dynamo a lot of Mexican support. But dear God, if they did that they would become my most hated team
Does anyone else want to break it to BetaMale that L.A. lost money last year, or should I take care of it myself. Oops — guess I just did!
Not sure how much this will help the league.
Three DP’s will cost $1 Mill in salary cap.
That’s about 8 or 10 mid-range players which provide a lot of depth.
Remember that half of the DP’s were dismal failures (Landin, Denilson, Reyna etc) and others didn’t make much of an impact (Llundberg).
MLS is not going to be a premier league for a while. That means we’ll get disproportionately the aging, injury prone and disinterested who no longer attract interest among the top clubs in Europe (top clubs meaning the top 300 clubs who have higher wages than MLS).
Some, like Beckham, had other options but came for their own reasons.
Many others (Denilson) really didn’t.
Looks’ like MoJo will be able to spend his way out of the mess he’s made up here in Toronto. He better just sign the cheque and let Preki make the call though.
Excellent news.
As a fellow Revs fan, I agree – to a point. I’d love to have a contributor like Angel; we could do without the trouble and expense of Landin or Denilson.
Now I can see Henry and Ze’Roberto coming to NY in the summer…
Does NYRB have the money to bring in two more DPs?
I’m all for Riquelme coming to Seattle – just the kind of guy we need in central midfield.
Huh????
I think you have no clue how the DP slot works.
The slot just works to limit the salary cap hit a team takes for bringing in a player. No matter how much they offer the player — if they throw $20 million a year @ Messi to bring him in to MLS — he would still only count as $335,000 against the salary cap.
Doesn’t work that way. You can pay a DP as much as you want but it only counts as $335,000 against the salary cap.
Rory, I love it. I agree 100% that MLS began in 2009. Before then there wasn’t a team within 1000 miles of Seattle.
And no, we didn’t invent being an MLS fan. We perfected it.
Right. Effectively, that’s what it does — raises the salary caps for the other teams…perhaps making it possible for some of them to add a 1st or 2nd DP.
Each DP will sell a Million Dollars in merchandise which is never mentioned or disclosed by the owners when they say they loose money.
I’m OK with bringing in the old dudes. They’ll still boost the talent level of the league, even if temporarily. Plus, there’s no substitute to being able to say you saw Henry play, in person.
Only if you have all 3 for the full season. Half season deals look like the contracts you give a starting midfielder, goalie or forward.
Sounds good to me. To follow suit, the league should fork over another $70K allocation, for each year we lost on our 2nd DP trade 🙂
(SBI-Technically speaking there was only one year left on it, 2011.)
Unless they’re signed for 6 months only. Or 12 months only, before going home to finish their careers….
Plus, as you say, there are 2 expansion teams, coming. Teams may have more players at the lower end of the salary structure next year, anyway.
I’m sure that’s the primary motivation here. There could be a significant number of foreign players willing to come to MLS once the World Cup is over — players who are preparing to end their international careers, but are intrigued by the idea of playing here (for DP money). This gives teams a realistic shot of bringing in some real names.
But top players increase the attendance at all stadiums. Look at what happens when Becks is in the line-up.
You got me, just like Ives did with the April fools joke. Didnt you know people from Seattle cant function properly before they have their coffee?
Too true. Balance is key. The incredible scouting systems of the many powerful euro teams pick off South America’s best and true talent for the most part (Fredy M being a slight exception). That’s what MLS can’t compete with. Signing the leftovers results in Franco Niells or Ricardinhos. We have enough emerging young talent to not need to scout for other countries young talent too much.
Any chance a team can use all three DP slots on one player?
The league’s objection to free agency was primarily about maintaining single entity status, not about player salaries. The combination of salary cap and Multiple DP slots allows the league to keep the cost of fielding a team low enough for teams that are not strongly supported to remain in the league, whil still allowing the richer teams to bring in big name players and raise the profile of the league. It allow financially strong teams to improve themselves without punishing the weaker ones. Hopefully the fans will be the real winners.
Ditto. Much as I’d love to see Titi, Deco, and Ronaldinho in NY. How’d they come up with a 2nd DP slot is worth 70K though?
Ballack to Chicago. Then we still have slots to use! Make it happen.
BLAM!
I believe that’s the intended consequence, not the unintended consequence. The unintended consequence may have been nailed in comment #1, though.
Fantastic hope my Fire go for some talent!!
Whoops, I asked this same question below. Seems like you could take advantage of this to free up cap space, even if you’re not signing a true DP.
awww booo freaking hooo.
Don’t be mad at LA because players don’t actually want to play in the middle of nowhere in a 3/4s filled minor league baseball park, or a 1/4 filled football stadium, or a half full erector set.
Don’t forget that the Galaxy shares their profits with those lousy clubs, so while your team won’t ever profit, stunting LA’s growth will only hurt your bottom line too.
haters
Totally agree on the concept of adding more defensive minded DPs. All of the DPs in the league are on the offensive end of things which makes sense when you have only one DP spot to use. But I think that most teams would see a dramatic improvement in their level of play and their ability to compete in things like the CONCACAF Champions League by adding a great center back or a dominant defensive central midfielder.
These positions are the anchor of the team and provide the ability to maintain possession and dominate games.
It’ll be fun to watch what teams do with this new option!
If I understand the allocation money system, that’s exactly what it does. Allocation money can be spent to reduce the cap-hit of players you sign, so it effectively expands the salary cap.
Rafa Marquez perhaps?
what a cool guy. such class.
I’m a huge fan of parity myself. But, I’m also excited that we’ll get more exposure for the league and better quality on the field. The bigger names might be what gets MLS a decent TV contract, which would benefit all teams.
I guess I’d be happier if there were only two DPs per team and the second DP came with the 250k payment to the non-DP teams. Of maybe there could be a 3rd DP, but with an even higher payment to other teams required.
This just in, terms of Seattle’s contract with recent signee Pat Noonan have been revealed. He is considered a top fan draw by management and has thus been allotted designated player status.
so do the Sounders play in a dreadful stadium as well?
It’s not the stadium, it’s the lack of fans. If they were to get on the order of 20,000+ in that lower bowl (which seats about 30,000 I believe), never mind the mid 20’s or 30+ like Seattle gets, the stadium would be fine.
I honestly think that had the final held there that drew 60,000 been a better game (now that was dreadful), there would have been more support generated. I don’t remember these complaints about the old stadium, and I also remember more fans showing up, when the team was much worse.
You’re going to see a team with 3 DPs and four Generation addidas players (who don’t count against the cap, right?) and then 17 other players, right?
3 dp’s total 1 million
4 GA total zero in cap (or am I wrong on that)
1 player at 200 K
2 players at 100 k
9 players at 75 k
5 players at 40 k
That would give them 275 K left over.
maybe most important of all…how will this change effect MLS financially as a whole?
I wonder if teams that don’t plan on using DPs could just label anyone making over $335,000 a “DP”, thus freeing up cap room? Or, teams that have players making the league max could pay that player $1 more, and then the cap hit shoots down to $335,000…?
I think it comes out of the team’s pockets and I assume it’s a one-time expense, but that does beg the question of how long the slot lasts. Maybe it lasts as long as that 3rd DP is under contract. It would be better for the whole league if the 250k had to be paid every year!
I think Clarence Seedorf would be an excellent DP signing. Dude has star power, and can still ball with the best of ’em.
Plus, I wouldn’t say that big foreign named players like Beckham make their teams that much better as to guarantee a smackdown when they come to town. Those older guys are there to draw fans, period. They may make their teams a little better, but without quality younger guys like Montero, Holden, Rogers, etc…without a complete team, their team isn’t going to smack down anyone. RSL won the Cup last season, without a big-name DP player. Houston routinely leads the west without a big-name DP player. It’s not like a NY or LA team with 3 DP’s is going to dominate the league.
yes for this year, but will be the full 335k next year. there goes your 5% cap increase to cover that. 1 DP would be easy to cover now. 2 DPs maybe. 3 and your team will suck. This season will be exciting. some teams will make big buys and worry about next year, well next year. then you have 2 expansion teams coming in. i think the beginning of next season we will see tons of player movement.
they need to make the DP’s completely not count against the cap. just give every team the ability to make guys exempt against the cap regardless of how much they make. i’m not sure how you use all these slots without completely counting against the cap.
agree
you keep forgetting about all those euro/mexi/s.america snobs that would show up to watch the visiting team play with their DPs.
i dont care for the beckham crowd. they just wanna see glitz. i want the people who would pay to see riquelme, henry, raul, shevenko (sp) play. get those people hooked, and maybe they come back and watch another game.