Moneyball
The third round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup saw eight of the 16 participating Major League Soccer teams sent packing by lower-division sides (a record for number, obviously, but not percentage, as half of the field of eight crashed out in 2004′s fourth round). This has led to the usual sturm und drang on the internet, with some fans claiming the results are proof of everything from parity to the necessity of promotion and relegation to the existence of Bigfoot. What usually happens in these instances is MLS teams that lose get pilloried for not trying or not caring enough to put out a representative team. For many teams – like Chicago, which had four games in 11 days – it’s a matter of prioritizing and making best use of rosters that aren’t as robust as in other leagues around the world. But I wanted to see how true the shorthand “Those teams that played more regular players were successful, and those that didn’t, weren’t” really was.
I first looked at league playing time by each of the 16 MLS teams’ first elevens (turns out, yes, there’s a correlation between teams that put a lot of their bench players in the lineup and teams that lost, not a surprise), but then I had an idea: why not total up the salaries of each MLS team’s starting lineups to get a different view of the types of players the teams were putting out there?
Thanks to the MLS Players Union, the salary information is readily available, so it was just a matter of plugging it all in. Turns out there’s a correlation between salaries and success. It’s not perfect, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Of the eight teams that had the most 2012 salary money represented in their first elevens, five won and moved on. Of the eight that were spending the least on their starters, only three were winners.
Here’s the chart of what each of the 16 MLS teams in this year’s Open Cup were spending on base salaries on the 11 players they started in their third round matches:
| Club | Total | Average | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Timbers | $2,334,925.00 | $212,265.91 | Lost |
| New York Red Bulls | $1,535,562.00 | $139,596.55 | Won |
| Philadelphia Union | $1,265,596.00 | $115,054.18 | Won |
| DC United | $1,254,064.00 | $114,005.82 | Won |
| Real Salt Lake | $1,083,635.00 | $98,512.27 | Lost |
| Houston Dynamo | $1,048,487.00 | $95,317.00 | Lost |
| San Jose Earthquakes | $993,212.25 | $90,292.02 | Won |
| Chivas USA | $991,750.04 | $90,159.09 | Won |
| Sporting Kansas City | $959,450.00 | $87,222.73 | Won |
| Seattle Sounders | $941,901.00 | $85,627.36 | Won |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | $867,200.00 | $78,836.36 | Lost |
| New England Revolution | $857,675.00 | $77,970.45 | Tied* |
| Colorado Rapids | $770,626.00 | $70,056.91 | Won |
| FC Dallas | $741,829.00 | $67,439.00 | Lost |
| Columbus Crew | $705,900.00 | $64,172.73 | Lost |
| Chicago Fire | $681,300.00 | $61,936.36 | Lost |
(We don’t know what the lower division teams’ annual salaries are for comparison, but, rest assured, they’re south of Chicago’s.)
This chart makes Portland’s home loss to Cal FC - an amateur team bankrolled largely by US Soccer legend Eric Wynalda – all the more dramatic and baffling. The Timbers not only had the most expensive player of the round (Kris Boyd, who makes $1.25 million), they spent nearly $800,000 more than the second-place team (New York) and more than Dallas, Columbus and Chicago combined spent on their starters. Seven regulars – those who had played more than 50% of the possible minutes for the Timbers in the league – started for Portland, the highest figure in the league (Philadelphia and Seattle started six each and both won, Los Angeles, New England and Chicago started two among them and all lost).
Again, the correlation isn’t perfect, but Colorado was the only one of the five thriftiest teams that got a result and advanced (New England’s penalty kick defeat at Harrisburg officially counts as a draw). And the Timbers were the only one of the top four most expensive lineups that are out of the competition.
Salt Lake made no secret of being in it to win it, but despite the presence of five regulars and two part-timers, they lost at home to defending NASL champ Minnesota. Houston – which prioritized an important friendly, if there is such a thing, at home tonight against Valencia, fell to expansion NASL side San Antonio. Barring those results, and had Boyd not missed an 80th-minute penalty for Portland, the correlation would have been nearly perfect.
The takeaway? As always, money isn’t everything, but it helps. And when you run out a team of reserves against a hungry lower-division side in a one-off Cup situation, it’s buyer beware.
The full list of annual base salaries of each of the 171 players who started for MLS teams in the third round of the Open Cup is after the jump:
| Player | Salary |
|---|---|
| Kris Boyd | $1,250,000.00 |
| Troy Perkins | $190,000.00 |
| Jack Jewsbury | $180,000.00 |
| Diego Chara | $150,000.00 |
| Steven Smith | $108,000.00 |
| Jorge Perlaza | $100,000.00 |
| Darlington Nagbe | $90,000.00 |
| Hanyer Mosquera | $75,000.00 |
| Kalif Alhassan | $70,000.00 |
| David Horst | $65,000.00 |
| Eric Alexander | $56,925.00 |
| TOTAL | $2,334,925.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Heath Pearce | $292,499.00 |
| Kenny Cooper | $275,000.00 |
| Markus Holgersson | $190,000.00 |
| Jan Gunnar Solli | $185,000.00 |
| Dax McCarty | $174,375.00 |
| Mehdi Ballouchy | $138,188.00 |
| Wilman Conde | $125,000.00 |
| Brandon Barklage | $44,000.00 |
| Jhonny Arteaga | $44,000.00 |
| Ryan Meara | $33,750.00 |
| Connor Lade | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,535,562.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Freddy Adu | $400,000.00 |
| Lionard Pajoy | $180,000.00 |
| Brian Carroll | $168,000.00 |
| Amobi Okugo | $90,000.00 |
| Sheanon Williams | $85,000.00 |
| Michael Lahoud | $75,196.00 |
| Josue Martinez | $65,000.00 |
| Michael Farfan | $57,200.00 |
| Keon Daniel | $55,000.00 |
| Gabriel Farfan | $46,200.00 |
| Chris Konopka | $44,000.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,265,596.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Hamdi Salihi | $305,460.00 |
| Emiliano Dudar | $225,000.00 |
| Andy Najar | $150,000.00 |
| Josh Wolff | $130,000.00 |
| Maicon Santos | $106,400.00 |
| Ethan White | $70,000.00 |
| Marcelo Saragosa | $70,000.00 |
| Stephen King | $65,000.00 |
| Joe Willis | $44,100.00 |
| Chris Korb | $44,100.00 |
| Lewis Neal | $44,004.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,254,064.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Nat Borchers | $200,004.00 |
| Jamison Olave | $200,000.00 |
| Chris Wingert | $145,000.00 |
| Ned Grabavoy | $120,000.00 |
| Luis Gil | $101,531.00 |
| Paulo Junior | $75,000.00 |
| Kyle Reynish | $66,000.00 |
| Yordany Alvarez | $44,100.00 |
| Terukazo Tanaka | $44,000.00 |
| Jonny Steele | $44,000.00 |
| Emilano Bonfigli | $44,000.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,083,635.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Bobby Boswell | $200,000.00 |
| Luiz Camargo | $192,000.00 |
| Mac Kandji | $135,000.00 |
| Colin Clark | $105,427.00 |
| Cam Weaver | $98,175.00 |
| Nathan Sturgis | $89,250.00 |
| Adam Moffat | $59,535.00 |
| Alex Dixon | $47,250.00 |
| Tyler Deric | $44,100.00 |
| Warren Creavalle | $44,000.00 |
| Oscar Recio | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,048,487.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Tressor Moreno | $250,000.00 |
| Steven Lenhart | $180,000.00 |
| Ike Opara | $100,000.00 |
| Sercan Guvenisik | $90,000.00 |
| Sam Cronin | $71,156.25 |
| David Bingham | $71,000.00 |
| Sam Garza | $65,000.00 |
| Brad Ring | $44,100.00 |
| Justin Morrow | $44,100.00 |
| Jean-Marc Alexandre | $44,100.00 |
| Josh Suggs | $33,756.00 |
| TOTAL | $993,212.25 |
| Player | Salary |
| Juan Pablo Angel | $350,000.00 |
| Ryan Smith | $160,000.00 |
| Peter Vagenas | $70,000.00 |
| Juan Agudelo | $70,000.00 |
| Jorge Villafana | $66,000.00 |
| Blair Gavin | $60,000.00 |
| John Valencia | $50,000.00 |
| Scott Gordon | $44,000.04 |
| Tim Melia | $44,000.00 |
| Rauwshawn McKenzie | $44,000.00 |
| Cesar Romero | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $991,750.04 |
| Player | Salary |
| Paulo Nagamura | $250,000.00 |
| Aurelien Collin | $210,000.00 |
| Chance Myers | $86,000.00 |
| Jacob Peterson | $81,000.00 |
| Seth Sinovic | $60,000.00 |
| Dom Dwyer | $60,000.00 |
| Jon Kempin | $46,500.00 |
| Lawrence Olum | $44,100.00 |
| Peterson Joseph | $44,100.00 |
| Soony Saad | $44,000.00 |
| Konrad Warzycha | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $959,450.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Jeff Parke | $185,325.00 |
| Osvaldo Alonso | $185,000.00 |
| Jhon Kennedy Hurtado | $160,000.00 |
| Eddie Johnson | $100,000.00 |
| Marc Burch | $65,000.00 |
| Sammy Ochoa | $55,000.00 |
| Zach Scott | $46,314.00 |
| Cordell Cato | $44,000.00 |
| Andy Rose | $33,756.00 |
| Alex Caskey | $33,756.00 |
| Bryan Meredith | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $941,901.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Chad Barrett | $220,000.00 |
| Marcelo Sarvas | $135,000.00 |
| Leonardo | $90,000.00 |
| Michael Stephens | $72,050.00 |
| Pat Noonan | $70,000.00 |
| Bill Gaudette | $60,000.00 |
| Kyle Nakazawa | $51,150.00 |
| David Junior Lopes | $47,250.00 |
| Tommy Meyer | $44,000.00 |
| Hector Jimenez | $44,000.00 |
| Bryan Gaul | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $867,200.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| John Lozano | $200,000.00 |
| Jose Moreno | $144,000.00 |
| Fernando Cardenas | $99,996.00 |
| Kelyn Rowe | $75,000.00 |
| Darrius Barnes | $68,063.00 |
| Tyler Polak | $60,000.00 |
| Diego Fagundez | $55,000.00 |
| Bobby Shuttleworth | $44,100.00 |
| Jeremiah White | $44,004.00 |
| Alec Purdie | $33,756.00 |
| Mike Roach | $33,756.00 |
| TOTAL | $857,675.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Edu | $120,000.00 |
| Hunter Freeman | $105,000.00 |
| Tyrone Marshall | $90,000.00 |
| Wells Thompson | $87,188.00 |
| Luis Zapata | $65,460.00 |
| Scott Palguta | $63,670.00 |
| Andre Akpan | $57,200.00 |
| Jaime Castrillon | $50,000.00 |
| Stew Ceus | $44,100.00 |
| Harrison Henao | $44,004.00 |
| Kamani Hill | $44,004.00 |
| TOTAL | $770,626.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Jackson | $120,000.00 |
| Andrew Jacobson | $87,500.00 |
| Jair Benitez | $80,000.00 |
| Chris Seitz | $75,000.00 |
| Zach Loyd | $73,975.00 |
| Bruno Guarda | $60,000.00 |
| Bryan Leyva | $60,000.00 |
| Scott Sealy | $50,004.00 |
| George John | $47,250.00 |
| Jonathan Top | $44,100.00 |
| Matt Hedges | $44,000.00 |
| TOTAL | $741,829.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Olman Vargas | $170,000.00 |
| Chris Birchall | $102,000.00 |
| Julius James | $100,000.00 |
| Justin Meram | $46,200.00 |
| Shaun Francis | $44,100.00 |
| Cole Grossman | $44,100.00 |
| Matt Lampson | $44,000.00 |
| Eric Gehrig | $44,000.00 |
| Ethan Finlay | $44,000.00 |
| Aubrey Perry | $33,750.00 |
| Kevan George | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $705,900.00 |
| Player | Salary |
| Corben Bone | $100,000.00 |
| Rafael Robayo | $100,000.00 |
| Federico Puppo | $100,000.00 |
| Daniel Paladini | $82,500.00 |
| Jalil Anibaba | $65,450.00 |
| Michael Videira | $44,100.00 |
| Austin Berry | $44,000.00 |
| Orr Barouch | $44,000.00 |
| Paolo Tornaghi | $33,750.00 |
| Tony Walls | $33,750.00 |
| Hunter Jumper | $33,750.00 |
| TOTAL | $681,300.00 |
Tags: MLS, NASL, soccer, US Open Cup, USL
May 31st, 2012 at 12:59 pm
It makes me feel a little bit better about the Rhinos’ loss on Tuesday to Philadelphia that they were the third most expensive MLS squad to take part in the third round.
June 1st, 2012 at 3:42 am
You are an absolute fucking idiot. All you do is troll a message board all day long. Your league absolutely sucks. It will fold, and I will laugh when it does. It is pure shit, and you are pure shit.
Fuck you and your family, troll.
June 1st, 2012 at 6:15 am
I left that last comment in (IP address is from Chicago) just to show the complete cowardice of some people. The guy doesn’t have the balls to put his name to what he says, and wouldn’t say these things to me if we met face-to-face. He’s got no brain, no sense and no balls.
June 1st, 2012 at 10:04 am
Good stuff, as always. Amazing what you can find out with a little research. Can’t figure out who Idiot’s comments are directed torward, or which league he is even referring to.
Quick shout-out to David Horst, nice to see a kid from ODU pull down a half-way decent MLS salary with the Timbers; even though it’s near the bottom of that day’s roster.
June 1st, 2012 at 10:30 am
RSL and Portland paid extra to host their matches, so you can add that on top of their starting 11′s salaries.
Also, in the case of Portland, they are karmically burdened by their short-sighted embrace of the Paulson family and their blood money. Henry Paulson should be in jail.
June 1st, 2012 at 10:53 am
Okay, then.
June 1st, 2012 at 11:12 am
Nice post, good analysis. Lack of roster spots is definitely an issue, and unwillingness to prioritize single-elimination games over relatively meaningless reg season games (it’s so easy to make playoffs) and totally meaningless friendlies is another.
It’s kind of unfair to the players that they look like their value is what they are paid because MLS has single entity structure. These players would be making 20-30% more if collusion wasn’t allowed, and teams competed to sign players.
Sadly, players must either sign for what the league offers or they must move abroad if they want to make upper 5 figures playing soccer. By the way, practically the only teams that could compete with MLS on salaries have been since been absorbed by it – Seattle, Portland, and perhaps Vancouver. That was not by mistake.
Just wanted to make the point that it’s categorically true that what they are worth to their team is more (and sometimes a lot more) than what they are paid.
June 1st, 2012 at 11:15 am
From what I know I think it’s quite safe to say that the difference in salary between Minnesota and RSL would be aprox. $82,000.
June 1st, 2012 at 11:19 am
Seems to me there are very few people who are under the impression they are paid what they are worth. And there’s no question MLS players would make more in a truly open market for their services – that’s been proven time and again in every league in every sport that allows free agency.
The thing about those “relatively meaningless reg season games” and “totally meaningless friendlies” is that they generate revenue and interest. Houston drew a big crowd for Valencia, much, much bigger than they would have for an Open Cup match. As long as that’s the case, you can’t blame clubs for prioritizing where the actual money is, given how much money has been spent and lost in this country on the game over the years.
And as for Seattle, Portland and perhaps Vancouver being able to compete with MLS on salaries….I think players on those teams were doing okay in the second division, sure. But they weren’t going to go off and form their own league. And between them they could only have siphoned off about 50 players from MLS (fewer, actually, who would have been okay playing in the second division), so I doubt it was about that. It was more about getting those markets into the league.
June 1st, 2012 at 11:20 am
You mean on average, bq? Because I have a feeling Minnesota’s not spending a million on players.
June 2nd, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Wow, I see a couple guys from Div 3 that have signed with MLS and they are making 44K?! Makes me wonder just how dreadful the pay is in DIV 3 and gives some perspective…
June 3rd, 2012 at 6:09 am
New CBA. 44k isn’t the minimum, but a lot of those type guys are getting that now. That’s probably close to twice what a D3 guy would make.
June 5th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
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