A Modest MLS Proposal

Recently in the American soccer community I have heard comments that the MLS should abandon the salary cap in an effort to make the quality on the field better. Clearly with big time financial backing, and the lure of being super-stars in the land of excess the European Football greats would come state side to apply there trade. While this seems like an ideal, the fact is right now this is not possible.

Now the argument that it is time to abandon the salary cap in MLS does have some merit. Most owners in the league can fork over the money to pay for high salaries, and a lot of them really want that opportunity. Also as this summer World Football Challenge proved, there is a appetite for world-class soccer in this county. (If packing NFL stadiums to watch a sport that is considered foreign is not a sign, I don't know what is). Also a handful of MLS teams have a good following despite the handicap on spending, DC, Houston, and Toronto have great followings. Also the Mega of soccer supporters in the county Seattle who put over 32,000 in there stadium every week. And they VOLUNTARILY capped the stadium at 32,000. The biggest evidence is the idea that when big-name clubs and stars come to the States, the crowds get to an impressive side.

With all of these factors the question then becomes, Why do we have the salary cap, let's see how much quality we can pour into MLS? It is at that moment when I will stop you and point out some key factors on why the league still needs the salary cap, but what they can do to make it better.

In the 1970's the NASL was the hottest commodity, with stars like Pele' applying there trade in the United States, the league was best thing since sliced bread. Then when the crop of stars retired, problems arose. People still went to the bigger clubs, but the gap between the giants and the smaller clubs became too big for the league to function. For teams you either were in the haves or have nots categories. This called a financial mess-up and teams folded because they had a payroll that they could not pay.

With this lesson in mind the MLS put very strict financial restrictions on the teams of the league. The idea was a conservative approach and slowly build up a fan-base. While this did help the league grow, and it was a solid financial plan there was one problem. THE TEAMS STINK. As the 1998 World Cup showed, MLS was no where near the quality of other leagues. So what the powers-that-be having been asking themselves since the leagues inception is, how do we balance conservative spending with getting some real talent on the field? In 2006 probably the best thing the league ever thought of came into being. The Designated Player rule. With every team getting one super-star, talent would increase in the league. Or at least publicity, which is ALWAYS good.

Now the MLS in a cross-roads, do they keep with the conservative spending approach, or say 'Let's throw the dice, and spend like there was no tomorrow.' My solution is a hybrid of both.

First: MLS needs to increase the overall salary cap, and roster size. This is a MUST, teams need to pay there players more, and attract better role players in the league, sure every team can have a super star. But it would be in every body's best interest if the mid-level players were better than the ones the league has now. Along with raising the salary cap, increase the roster size. the only reason why Europe's clubs can compete for 3 to 4 titles in a single campaign is because the have an arsenal of subs and reserves they can use when the starters need a break. You can not tell MLS teams to pursue the MLS Cup, US Open Cup, and the CCL in the same year, and ONLY use 18 players while doing so. It is fine if the league want these teams to compete for these trophies, but let them have something to work with so they do not sabotage the entire season.

Second: Reward Success. One of the good things about MLS is that it is a league of parity. One of the curses of MLS is, there is TOO much parity. While a highly competitive league is fun, it actually hurts MLS reputation not to have power-house teams. Domestically speaking there could be a new element to the league, teams doing there best to overthrow the top 3 or 4 teams in the league. It would add a David vs. Goliath aspect to the league, and offer some Cinderella stories. For those who think I'm crazy for saying this, ask me why Burnly beating Manchester United was such a shock. When it happens in MLS, like last week when the Red Bulls beat the Crew, even in the MLS circles is was not much of an eye-opener. So the question is Why? Because in the MLS there is no set power-houses since there is not financial reward for being successful. The solution to this problem is reward success. Allow teams who win the MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, US Open Cup, or do well in the CCL to have more money for their salary cap.
This idea would help MLS teams in the CCL, as they would be able to compete with the Mexican teams who have a bigger spending wallet.

These two suggestions are an example of combining both ideas. MLS teams NEED to start spending more money, what the league needs to do is just control it. Autobahn? NO, increase the Speed Limit from 55 to 70? YES. This would solve the crisis of MLS teams not having the funds to field decent talent on the field, while at the same time staying with the financially sound system the league operates on. Through these proposals MLS can go from a modest league, into a powerhouse of Western Hemisphere football.