Designated Players in the MLS
The Salary Cap Exceptions
Designated Players in the MLS
I wrote yesterday about GAM and TAM, the two bizarre ways that MLS clubs are able to negate the effects of the salary cap.
Let’s talk today about Designated Players — the sure sign that the MLS isn’t really committed to avoiding repeating the mistakes of the NASL.
They call it the “Beckham Rule,” and for good reason. David Beckham was the first Designated Player.
Back in 2007, the MLS had the opportunity to bring aging star David Beckham to the United States for the retirement phase of his career. Beckham was 32 years old at the time, and agreed to a $6.5 million annual contract.
Now, Beckham’s arrival in the United States was actually a pretty nice mirror of Pele’s arrival in 1975. Here’s what The Associated Press had to say at the time:
And here’s how the press reported Pele’s signing in 1975:
One thing that the history books and Wikipedia pages have forgotten is that Beckham’s salary was exaggerated for the sake of press attention:
At any rate, the $6.5 million per season Beckham was actually receiving would have obliterated the LA Galaxy in the salary cap. And thus the “Designated Player” concept was born.
There are so many Designated Players in today’s MLS that it would be hard to list them all here. To give you an idea, here is a list of a group of them organized by salary, from highest to smallest, stolen from Wikipedia:
Now, there are two questions to ask yourself about this rule:
Doesn’t this rule negate the whole point of the salary cap?
Do these bizarre salary rules make the United States a less attractive place for talented players?
What do you think?