Positions Available: $12,900 to Start, Advancement Possible

By JACK BELL

Published: May 9, 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/sports/soccer/09soccer.html?ref=sports

The Major League Soccer players union released salary information last week that showed that the league’s more than 90 developmental players each earn less $20,000. That stands in stark contrast to the salaries of the league’s marquee players, some of whom make 50 times that or more.

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David Beckham, who is expected to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, will make more than $5.5 million in base salary.

Don Garber, the commissioner of M.L.S., said the developmental players were serving an apprenticeship that is not unlike baseball’s minor league system.

“It’s questionable logic when the comparison is made between a designated player like David Beckham and our developmental players,” Garber said yesterday in a telephone interview. “It’s akin to comparing a prospect on the Staten Island Yankees to Derek Jeter. One is a seasoned world-class athlete, the other is a young kid right out of school who may or not make it.”

According to the salary figures released by the M.L.S. Players Association, Beckham, who is expected to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, will make more than $5.5 million in base salary. Claudio Reyna, one of the Red Bulls’ two designated players, is the highest-paid American, making $1 million.

It is at the bottom end of the scale that the numbers are stark: 57 developmental players are making $12,900, and 36 are making $17,700. According to figures from the league, a $12,900 salary translates to $1,075 a month, which is more than the $900 a month made by Class A baseball players. The $17,700 figure translates to $1,475 a month, comparable to the $1,625 Class AA baseball players earn. Garber was quick to point out that a player like Chicago’s Chris Rolfe, formerly a developmental player, had proved his worth and was now making $70,000 in base pay.

Each league club has an 18-man senior roster and can carry an additional 10 developmental players who must be 24 or younger (goalkeepers can be 25). The league’s minimum salary for senior roster players this season is $30,000, and it will rise to $33,000 in 2008, the league said.

Garber said the players union agreed to the structure when it signed the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires in January 2010. He added that in 2004, the league had 180 senior roster players and a modest developmental system. Now, he said, it has 354 players, which includes the 122 developmental players.

“This is an entry-level position, which was never intended to be for an extended period,” Garber said. “We don’t begrudge the union for trying to fight for higher salaries, but the reality is that we’re paying what the labor market will bear. The developmental players were free to negotiate the best deal with any club in the world, or work outside soccer. If the players make it, they will be paid accordingly.”