It's so easy to support the players. We love them. We want the best for them. We want better players and that means more money. It's really, simple to jump on their side. The fact is, though, that the money has to come from somewhere. The league is not profitable. Most teams are not profitable. I agree some changes should be made to give players who are out of contract or who have been 'waived' control on where they can go, that seems like a no brainer and I'm not sure what the leagues issue is with this. But as far as money is concerned, the owners have been bank rolling the league at a loss for a long time, I think they should do what's right for them and the league as far as money is concerned or we wont have a league anymore.
Often labor negotiations are split up into a good guy and a bad guy and usually the workers are the good guys. In this case I don't think it's at all so cut and dry. I think there is a lot of 50-50 that needs to happen here, lots of honest compromise. Not entirely sure the players are seeing it that way yet, but there is no way for any of us to tell since we aren't in on the negotiations.
Based on what? the owners saying so?
Did you see the documents presented to the city of portland? Basically, they said even in a worst case scenario of a team drawing 12-13k the whoke year at prices averaging $15-20. A team would be profitable. The league as a whole is averaging 16k plus change. Not including it's most profitable arm, Soccer United Marketing.
It's owned by MLS and splits the profits to the owners of MLS teams.
They market friendlies by touring teams, the USNT and Mexican national team. You're telling me that everytime Mexico sells out reliant or the rose bowl, SUM is somehow losing money? Even after Mexico's cut?
The last contract was made before a lot of national deals, last time around........MLS was paying ESPN to show it's games. Now it has three national tv contracts plus the adidas deal. While teams have started to sell shirt space.
If so many teams were truly hemorrhaging money, I don't think you'd someone like Saputo desperate to join the league.
I'm not saying the team should raise the cap to 10 million or even 5 million. But a 300k raise? That's Halas/Wirtz thinking right there.
"Dave Checketts and SCP Worldwide partners Dean Howes, Kenneth Munoz, Michael McCarthy and Chris Bevilacqua, chose Real Salt Lake for the team's name because they desired to associate the team with a successful soccer club, and "Fire" was already taken."