Even if David Beckham isn’t really going to be making $250 million from his move the L.A. Galaxy this summer, his guaranteed $27.5 million base salary over five years is light years away from what most players in the league make. Foreigners may view the U.S. as the land of overpaid sports star, but that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to MLS. Indeed, take the lowest rung on the MLS totem pole: so-called “developmental” players-there can be as many as 10 on a team-make as little as $13,000 per year. That folks, is well below the poverty line.
As Andrea Canales, writing for ESPN Soccernet, says, this is “a calculated move” on the part of the league to hedge against the problems that ultimately consumed the North American Soccer League: keep salaries low and spending under the control of the league. Smart, some might say-but $13,000 a year?
Well, as D.C. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins says, it’s “your chance.” Perkins was one such “developmental” player, who supplemented his modest income by working afternoon and night shifts at a sporting goods score. Perkins, of course, went on to become last season’s most valuable goalkeeper