Union head weighs in on CBA negotiations
By Jeff Carlisle · February 21, 2010
After MLS and its players union traded barbs over the last two days, union head Bob Foose waded into the fray on Sunday, disputing the figures that MLS President Mark Abbott cited the day before.
In a lengthy conversation with Center Line Soccer on Saturday, Abbott said that the league’s proposal would increase spending on players by $60 million over the five-year life of the deal. On Sunday, Foose sent an email to several journalists, including this writer, in which he accused the league of using some fuzzy math to arrive at that figure.
“Over the past five years [the league’s salary budget] increased by a total of 33% and an average of 5.9% per year. The league’s current offer to the players would significantly slow the growth of this salary budget. Under their proposal, the budget would increase only a total of 26% and an average of 4.8% per year over the next five years. Despite this slower growth, under MLS’s math, it characterizes this proposal as representing over $35 million in additional spending over the course of the next five years. The league arrives at that figure by assuming that the salary budget would otherwise stay completely flat, with no adjustments even for inflation or increases in the cost of living. So, in ‘costing’ its proposal to the players, the league uses the 2009 salary budget of $2,315,000 as a baseline for each of the five years, and also adds full costs from that baseline for future expansion teams despite the fact that those teams weren’t even in existence during 2009.”
Based on Foose’s description of the league’s proposal, the salary cap would increase to $2.42 million in 2010 before topping out at $2.92 million in 2014. Foose did not immediately respond to an email asking him to clarify further how MLS arrived at the $35 million figure cited above.
(I did ask Abbott on Saturday to break down how much of the $60 million would be spent on salaries and how much would be on ancillary benefits, but he declined to divulge any figures, only saying that most of that number would go to player salaries.)
The coming days will likely see the two sides continue to try to frame the issue in their terms, with MLS portraying this as being 100% about economics while the union keeps talking about players’ rights. We’ll see which argument carries the day.
The two sides are scheduled to resume talks on Monday.
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“We’ll see which argument carries the day.”
Statements like that are exactly where the problem lies. If there is a work stoppage, everyone will lose. Here are two links to some well grounded perspectives on this whole mess:
http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/columns/mytwocents.php?article_id=22680
http://soccerlaw.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/mls-and-union-cannot-risk-mutually-assured-destruction/
I’m not really on the side of the players or the league. They both need to grow up a bit. I’m on the side of the fans. If there’s a work stoppage, it doesn’t matter who gives in first or who “carries the day”, the fans and the sport in this country lose.
True greed is when you eat yourself. MLS must think of the NHL. Remember them? They are still trying to recover.
I hate to say it but if MLS strikers, Soccer is over in the US! Baseball is still recovering and that strike was more than 10 years ago.
I agree with swifty. I’m having a difficult enough time having any interest in the getting worse every year Earthquakes, and with much better options available on TV (EPL, Champions League, la Liga, etc.), a strike just might end my MLS viewing.
Any goodwill for the league ended when the Quakes were relocated to Houston.
meanwhile, back at the ranch……….
what have the boys in blue been up to??? what has been going on at training in the last few days??? robert, we need a fix……..
The unions are corrupt and stubborn to the point of stupidity, the owners are selfish and unresponsive and they both fiddle while Rome burns. A strike this season would sound the death knell for MLS and both sides know this but refuse to budge an inch. How much crap do they think we’ll put up with as fans and supporters of this league?