An abhoration or the start of a trend?

A piece this week on ESPNFC discussing the move of former MLS forward and Jamaican International Ryan Johnson from the Portland Timbers to the Chinese Super League and now the Korean K-League raised an eyebrow for me.  The fact is that in the future, MLS will not only face a challenge of keeping domestic talent from leaving to one of the big european leagues, but may very well face the challenge of retaining talent from the developing and lucrative Asian football market.

Having american footballers practice their craft in Asia is a foreign concept to the growing legion of U.S. soccer fans.  For me however as a supporter of the Honduran National Team, having players from my country play professionally in Thailand, Malaysia and China for example is common practice.  For years now Honduran footballers like Georgie Welcome, Mitchell Brown, Osman Chavez, Walter Martinez and Emil Martinez to name a few of many played professionally in Eastern Asia.  Most if not all of these footballers had the skill to play in MLS (Walter Martinez did in fact play for San Jose for a season). Many chose to play in Asia because of the fact they can make significantly more money in Asia than they could in Major League Soccer or any other league in the CONCACAF region.

Could we begin seeing this trend in Major League Soccer where we might start losing out talent to China, Korea or even Malaysia?  Is Ryan Johnson who had a successful career in his eight years at Major League Soccer be an anomaly or the beginning of a larger movement?  Time will tell but it would be keen for MLS owners and the powers that be in New York City to not ignore what Johnson has done.  In fact they should pay very close attention.

Ryan Johnson in China

When Ryan Johnson left Major League Soccer he was making $144,000 according to the MLS players union.  He more than doubled his yearly wage by moving to the Chinese Super League.  According to the ESPNFC piece linked previously, Johnson has taken a slight pay cut but still making significantly more money in China than he would with Major League Soccer by signing a new two year contract to play professionally in Korea.

Major League Soccer is in prime position to take significant advantage of the countless sins that have been committed economically and due to corruption in European Leagues like Seria A and La Liga.  You can't tell me that the signing of Sebastian Giovinco by Toronto FC is not a clear sign of the continuing rise of MLS and reflective of the troubles going on in Italy within the sport.

As a league however MLS needs to make sure they are not only attracting players at the 'DP' level that make seven figure salaries.  Commissioner Garber and team owners need to make sure they are taking care of all players and make sure that we can compete as a league with other emerging markets.  MLS needs to be proactive and this current CBA negotiation is the perfect time to address this possible issue.

I respect Major League Soccer conservative approach and single entity model that was a requisite for the league to get to where it currently is. Its time however to continue investing talent and make sure we are not only taking care of the Kaka's, Frank Lampard's, Clint Dempsey's and other big name DP that attract the big headlines.  It is also time to take care of financially to the other 96% of your players economically.  If not, Ryan Johnson might not be an aberration but the beginning of an unfavorable drift for MLS.

Is a 2015 MLS Work Stoppage a Possibility?

This last year has been nothing short of epic for Orlando City.  We have come from the uncertainty of our future as a soccer club and the unpredictability of wondering if we would ever get a Soccer Specific Stadium to having signed a global superstar in Kaka and being a few months away from kickoff in Major League Soccer.  Our fortunes have turned quicker than those of Kyrie Irving.  Orlando City has gone from minor league soccer purgatory to being months away from hosting David Villa and Frank Lampard.  We have gone from awkwardly flirting with school aged adolescent females to partying with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Gosling in Las Vegas. While plans are full speed ahead for kickoff March 22^nd, 2015 in front of a packed Citrus Bowl, we still face the very real possibility of there being a work stoppage at the beginning of the 2015 MLS campaign that could indefinitely postpone the start of the season.  

Rick Scott pandering to the ILF

The current MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to expire on December 31^st of this year.  Due to the dramatic growth experienced these past few seasons, the players want a better deal.  Owners, MLS front office, neighborhoods where stadiums are located, elite top designated players and television network partners have all experienced the fruits of the leagues continued to grow.  The vast majority of players who are limited by the expiring CBA now want their cut.  As reported by Washington Post writer Steven Goff in his interview with union representative Bobby Boswell of D.C. United, the players are right now working on getting on the same page and developing a strategy for the upcoming negotiations.  

This past May, MLS negotiated a new domestic television contract worth just over $90,000,000 a season.  That is a threefold increase from the previous agreement that expired this season that garnered the league approximately $30,000,000 in revenues per season.  This does not include international television contracts, branding agreements, merchandise sales and stadium revenues which have all continued to grow.  

As part of this last CBA, the MLS minimum salary is still $35,125.  The league median is only $75,000 a season.  While players like Thierry Henry (earns $3.75 million a season) and Robbie Keane (earns $4 million a season) enjoy salaries comparable to what they would make with top European soccer clubs, 62 players made the league minimum this past season.  As of 2013, 15 of the leagues 19 clubs had combined team salaries of under $4,000,000 a season.  So while a handful of MLS players make seven figure salaries, the vast majority are still making humble wages by any account. Bobby Boswell and the union have to see this growth and the players want their cut of the continued success Major League Soccer is having.  While the single ownership model and current CBA have been catalyst in the leagues continued prosperity, the status quo is unacceptable.  The rising tide lifts all boats and it is only fair the players receive increases in wages.  I personally would love to see the MLS minimum increase significantly from $35,125 and force teams to spend a minimum on player salaries.  There is no reason why a club like Colorado is allowed to less than $3 million a season on player compensation while the league permits the Red Bull to spend over $10 million.  For a league that prides itself on fairness and equality, permitting some teams to be so frugal on player expenses is wrong and must change.  

It will be critical in my opinion for both sides to keep negotiations as private as possible and not allow news leaks that make the owners or players be perceived in a negative light.  If we as fans start seeing players flinging mud at the owners and the same vice versa, do not be surprised to see a prolonged player strike.  My desire is that Don Garber can negotiate with the players in good faith and come to the table with an offer that is not insulting.  Garber and the owners have the leverage as I am sure they know many of their players live paycheck to paycheck and can squeeze out getting their desired agreement in a similar fashion to which the NFL and NBA have recently done.  We nearly avoided disaster back in 2010 as we were days away from delaying the start of that MLS season.  We may not be so fortunate this time.  As a fan, I would love to see this new CBA as a catalyst for increased player acquisition transparency.  With respect to that final aspiration, I won’t hold my breath.