Caught in Possession

There's been plenty of buzz in MLS-oriented circles about the league salary numbers recently released by the players' union, which is becoming something of an annual ritual as more money floats in and around the league with more and more people paying attention to it in general.

Certainly there are some head-scratchers and jaw-droppers on this year's list, as always -- at both ends of the spectrum, with no shortage of stunningly overpaid fellows who can feel shamed by value-packed counterparts outperforming them at a fraction of their cost.

But having worked in and around labor unions for some time now, I am quite familiar with the conventional wisdom that claims "you're worth what you negotiate," so for guys like Jovan Kirovski ($220,000 a year, 12 goals over three seasons in Colorado) and Claudio Reyna (NYRB designated player making $1,015,000 a season, chipped in three assists last year), I say, "fair play and congrats to you, gents." It seems that merely going to play in Europe, even if you ride the pine while you're over there, entitles you to a fatter check when you come home and play in MLS. Puts a new light on Troy Perkins' decision to relocate to chilly Norway, doesn't it?

The real issue, to me, is not so much money wasted or value gained, but the gap between rich and poor. Young players around the league are often understandably reluctant to speak about their poor salaries and difficult household economics too openly or too often, but there's little doubt that they know all about these income statistics and the league honchos' stone-cold refusal to tweak them even though they could afford to do so at this point.

Basically, to hell with good will or fairness: every single dollar is going to have to be yanked away from the league in what will surely be (eventually, if not already) knock-down, drag-out collective bargaining negotiations. This is no different from what the auto workers or the health care workers or the grocery store employees (aka UFCW) face at contract time. The current CBA expires next year and those talks have already started. There are other hot topics to be hammered out there, but most players agree that the top priority is the need to take young players' wages above the poverty line. We'll see. Every chance I get, I have been talking to players around the league about this issue and will certainly be doing more coverage of it in the months to come.

In the meantime, MLS fans have every right to wonder whether income differences between players in their team's locker room are a potential source of frustration, resentment or even conflict. Yes, most of these guys handle the situation with professionalism -- and recognize that they have little to no control over what they or their teammates make -- but it's still an intriguing area.

Here in DC, we now know that Marcelo Gallardo is not just making DP money, but is the highest-paid player in United history and it reminded me that this topic had come up in a preseason conversation I had with Devon McTavish, who, for now at least, can boast of having scored three times as many goals as Gallardo at 1/56th the price.

"He’s got quite a resume," said McTavish of Gallardo. "So you can’t take that away from him. I’d say the resume does the salary justice, I think. You could look at it negatively if you wanted to, but it’s just a waste of energy and it just hurts the team in the long run. I don’t think any player looks on it negatively, that guy is making X amount and this guy’s making this amount. It’s just a waste of time and at the end of the day everyone is just trying to play soccer. So the guy next to you is making a little bit more, what can you do? You just kind of look past it and hope that he does what he’s supposed to do, which is making you look better on the field."

But if they ever get together for a postgame beer, you can guess who's buying.