Gullit Tops League in Salary. Or: How Much Does Sexy Football Cost?
By: Laurie | December 8th, 2007
Frank Dell’Apa at ESPNSoccernet and Buzz Carrick at 3rd Degree put together a list of approximate MLS coaching salaries, shown at the bottom. There’s a lot of wiggle room in these numbers (note all of the greater thans and less thans), but one thing is clear: The Galaxy’s Ruud Gullit is way over the top of the list at $1.33 million per year. (Probable bottom? Steve Nicol at $175,000.)
What does this tell us, aside from the fact that the Krafts are notorious cheapskates? (Which we knew already. They’re always among the big voices against raising the salary cap.)
Perhaps it tells us that sexy football, as exemplified by Brand Beckham, is expensive football?
I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around these numbers. The average salary seems to be hovering around $200,000, and yet we’re paying almost seven times that for a guy who doesn’t know MLS and hasn’t spent much time coaching recently. And whose results were mixed when he was coaching.
Why is this? Why was he hired, exactly? I understand that he was an amazing player, but so were a lot of guys. To bring him in as a coach on a three year contract at an exhorbitant salary doesn’t seem to make sense. Is this just an expression of AEG’s frustration with the player salary cap? (If we can’t throw money at more huge stars, we’ll…we’ll…throw it at a coach!)
Can anybody out there explain it to me? Or should we just wait and watch the alchemy occur this year, at which time we’ll all understand?
Here’s the entire list.
Rudd Gullit (LA) = $4 Mil over 3 years = $1.33 Million a year.
Bruce Arena (NY) = $600,000 a year, $1.2 Mil buyout.
Dominic Kinear (Hou) = $250,000
Frank Yallop (SJ) = $210,000
Juan Carlos Osorio (Chi) > $200,000
Mo Johnston (TFC) > $200,000
Jason Kreis (RSL) > $200,000
Sigi Schmid (Clb) > $200,000
Curt Onalfo (KC) < $200,000
Preki (CUSA) < $200,000
Tom Soehn (DCU) < $200,000
Fernando Clavijo (Col) < $200,000
Steve Morrow (FCD) < $200,000
Steve Nicol (NE) = $175,000$200,000
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Category: Preparing for 2008
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Comments
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Steve Nicol probably deserves the most for being the most consistent coach in MLS. All he needs is another striker with a little bit of dribbling skill and the MLS Cup is his.
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I think its refreshing. Where else in American sports does the coach or manager make more money than star players? The coach should be paid well. I say, it’s about time.
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He also ran Newcastle into the ground and fell out with pretty much every long-term player, which is what I would want in a new manager!
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looks like some of the coaches need a pay raise……
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I wouldn’t be surprised if Clavijo was under Nichol, given the fact that the entire fanbase wants the dude chucked out and Kroenke is supposedly not doing it because its much cheaper to keep the contract.
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Jason, there is one notable place in American sports where coaches make TONS more than the star players who ensure their livelihood… college!
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Nicol is horribly underpaid. What he’s done at New England, despite never winning a Cup, has been impressive enough to command more than 200k. Hopefully he’s up for a renegotiation soon.
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After Galaxy’s media shipwreck of a season, they had to pay for SOMEONE with a bit enough profile, as well as credibility, if they wanted anyone to either listen to or believe a word coming out of the organization. Someone that might at least momentarily eclipse Lalas (someone equally noted for “speaking his mind” but with significantly more intelligence), and who could never be accused of being incapable of “coaching” Beckham. Since the owner and GM slots were already taken they were wise to use the coaching vacancy to fulfill the need — with the added credibility Cobi offers as assistant. Pretty clever.
From our point of view, not bad on the football side either. Cobi obviously, and Gullit does have the credentials, not only as player but also as coach–certainly with Chelsea. As I’ve mentioned, my favorite thing about Gullit is that his departures from coaching jobs haven’t been because of team records but because he “fell out” with owners. The fact, as Andrea Canales reported, that at least in one case the falling out was over racial problems makes me even more partial.
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(sorry that would be big enough profile not bit enough)
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