Thursday, June 6, 2013

Toronto FC leads Reserve League in ‘average salary’

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Released on May 1 when the Reserve League was barely under way for the season, the MLS Player Union’s list of salary figures was meaningless in terms of examining how teams were allocating their budget on the field outside of the first team. With every club now having played at least two games, the numbers have been crunched for the Reserve League and loaned MLS players according to those MLSPU figures.

Despite having used seven non-salaried players (academy, trialists & guests) out of 22 total, Toronto FC has utilized an extremely high amount of salary toward its Reserve League team thus far, exceeding the next highest team, Seattle Sounders, by more than 43,000 on average with a total of $114,973 spent on Average Salary of Total Player Appearances (ASTPA). At the other end of the ASTPA spectrum is the New York Red Bulls, who have come in at $40,071 with nine of the 24 players used being non-salaried.

So what is ASTPA? INWsoccernews has tracked and tabulated the number of games played for all Reserve League matches. From there, the figure is calculated by taking the Guaranteed Salary (as listed by the MLSPU) and multiplying it by the number of appearances for the player, summing them all up for a team total and dividing that by the sum of all player appearances. Basically, the more often you use a high-salaried player, the higher the average goes and vice versa.

Seattle and the Colorado Rapids are second and third at $71,760 and $70,096, respectively. Toronto, at 2-0-0, already has just as many wins as Seattle (1-3-1) and Colorado (1-4-1), showing among the top three that the money spent does not necessarily guarantee wins in the Reserve League either. The bulk of the Reserve League participants come in after the top three, falling between $64,000 and $49,000. Joining New York below that group are the San Jose Earthquakes ($43,997) and FC Dallas (42,756).

MLS Reserve League Team Salaries by ASTPA

Team (current record WLD) -- ASTPA* -- Non-Salary Players/Total Used
Toronto (2-0-0) -- 114,973 -- 7/22
Seattle (1-3-1) -- 71,760 -- 6/27
Colorado (1-4-1) -- 70,096 -- 6/27
Columbus (2-3-0) -- 63,545 -- 5/25
Houston (4-1-0) -- 62,052 -- 6/21
Salt Lake (3-3-2) -- 61,968 -- 7/32
Los Angeles (1-1-1) -- 60,056 -- 5/21
Vancouver (2-0-2) -- 56,005 -- 8/27
Montreal (2-0-0) -- 51,707 -- 10/20
Chivas USA (2-0-1) -- 51,641 -- 10/23
Portland (3-1-2) -- 51,466 -- 8/24
Chicago (1-2-0) -- 49,538 -- 11/25
San Jose (2-3-0) -- 43,997 -- 17/35
Dallas (0-5-0) -- 42,756 -- 9/23
New York (2-2-0) -- 40,071 -- 9/24

Meanwhile, four clubs (DC, KC, New England & Philadelphia) have left the Reserve League this year, opting for USL affiliations. The Richmond Kickers have welcomed the largest average salary of players from their affiliate, DC United, with a total of six players salaried at $300,619 total guaranteed salary, per the MLSPU list, coming in at an average of $60,124. Rochester is on the other end among the foursome with an average of $45,844 for the four players that have come on loan from the Revolution.

In addition, other MLS clubs have loaned players to various teams this season with 26 players coming in at a total value of $1,366,065 stepping on the field in another team’s uniform at least once this season so far – an average of $54,643 each.

Loaned Players - Outbound by MLS Club

Team -- # -- Total Salary (Avg Salary)
Chicago -- 1 -- 79,000
DC -- 5 -- 300,619 (60,124)
Houston -- 2 -- 101,113 (50,557)
KC -- 4 -- 214,833 (53,708)
New England -- 4 -- 183,375 (45,844)
Philadelphia -- 5 -- 250,125 (50,025)
RSL -- 2 -- 144,000 (72,000)
Seattle -- 1 -- 35,125
Vancouver -- 2 -- 93,000 (46,500)
MLS Total -- 26 -- 1,366,065 (54,643)

Loaned Players - Inbound by LD Club

Team -- # -- Total Salary (Avg Salary)
Atlanta -- 1 -- 79,000
Carolina -- 1 -- 97,500
Charleston -- 1 -- 46,500
Edmonton -- 1 -- 46,500
Fort Lauderdale -- 1 -- 46,500
Harrisburg -- 5 -- 250,125 (50,025)
Orlando -- 4 -- 214,833 (53,708)
Phoenix -- 1 -- 35,125
Richmond -- 6 -- 347,119 (57,853)
Rochester -- 4 -- 183,375 (45,844)
Tampa Bay R -- 1 -- 54,613

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