Fun With Charts: Galaxy Player Salaries

Hey everyone. I'm working on some charts to put over in the sidebar, but I figured I'd create the tables here so we can discuss and peruse and whatnot. The first one is the MLS Players Association released chart of player salaries. A similar chart was published in Grant Wahl's David Beckham book (so I'm not being a meany, even though the league would rather this information weren't published). Thanks to Ryan for bringing this to my attention.

Really this is a pre-season post, but we didn't exist preseason! So according to the rules (via mlssoccer.com):

Players occupying roster spots 1-20 count against the club’s 2011 salary budget of $2,675,000, and are referred to collectively as the club’s Salary Budget Players.

Roster spots 19 and 20 are not required to be filled, and teams may spread their salary budget across only 18 Salary Budget Players. A minimum salary budget charge will be imputed against a team’s salary budget for each unfilled senior roster slot below 18.

A Designated Player counts $335,000 against the club’s salary budget, unless the player joins his club in the middle of the season, in which case his budget charge will be $167,500.

So let's try and put this all together. Roster spots 1-20:

So breaking all that down a bit, Leonardo was placed on the Season Ending Injury list which allowed the Galaxy to bring over Kyle Davies. Dallas waved Davies earlier in the season, so the Galaxy most likely had to pick up his contract as is. As you'll see in a moment, Jack McBean has a higher salary than Adam Cristman and Miguel Lopez, but he does not count against the senior roster as he is homegrown talent. By my math, the Galaxy are at $2,651,321, just barely under the cap. Leonardo's salary still counts against the cap, so Kyle Davies is probably it for Galaxy signings this year. There are ways to clear up cap room, and allocation money plays a role, but just adding those numbers took all math skills.

Now don't take that number as anything serious, players have other incentives and I don't know anything about how those all factor in, plus allocation money and a whole bunch of other things I don't understand. Now:

• Players occupying roster spots 21-30 do not count against the club’s salary budget, and are referred to collectively as the club’s Off-Budget Players (maximum of 10 per team). (All Generation adidas players are Off-Budget players.)
• Players occupying roster spots 1-24 will earn at least $42,000 in 2011.
• Players occupying roster spots 25-30 will earn at least $32,600 in 2011.

So when I compose the ten player list of supplemental players (the Galaxy have only filled 9 slots) 20-24 should make at least $42k and the rest at least $32.6k. That final open spot counts for $35,000 in allocation money.

Now all the allocation money in the world won't help the Galaxy as is, since the roster is full, as are all eight international slots. I guess the Galaxy could always bump Adam Cristman down. Jack McBean, of course, is only 16 and a homegrown player, that's why he's automatically off the salary roster despite making more that several of the first twenty. Brian Perk, I assume, is special since he's a keeper. All thirty players are eligible for the gameday roster.

Anyhow, now you know how the money is being spent. This information will be available on the sidebar, as soon as I turn these tables into widgets.