I realise comparing MLS wages to player wages in England is not even close to a fair comparison, but it is still interesting to look at the type of salary handicap Major League Soccer has in comparison to some of the richest leagues in the world.
Here are the "guaranteed compensations" of the players on the MLS all star game-day roster for the 2008 season.
GK Matt Reis ($161,250)
DF Frankie Hejduk ($175,000)
FW Juan Pablo Angel ($1,593,750)
MF Cuauhtémoc Blanco ($2,666,778)
FW Landon Donovan ($900,000)
MF Christian Gomez ($430,000)
DF Jim Brennan ($183,250)
DF Jimmy Conrad ($225,000)
MF Dwayne De Rosario ($325,000)
FW Edson Buddle ($157,000)
DF Jonathan Bornstein ($77,500)
MF Steve Ralston ($150,000)
MF Juan Toja ($150,000)
GK Pat Onstad ($173,000)
MF Shalrie Joseph ($325,000)
MF David Beckham ($6,500,000)
MF Pablo Mastroeni ($318,000)
FW Kenny Cooper ($83,000)
Combined All-Star Salary: $14,593,528
Average Annual Salary: $810,751
Comparison: Peter Crouch's Transfer to Portsmouth was reportedly for around $18,000,000.
Combined All-Star Salary Without Beckham, Blanco, Donovan and Angel: $2,933,000
Average Annual Salary: $209,500
Comparison: According to a
2006 BBC article on player wages, Championship players in England earn an average salary of about $385,000, League One players $130,000, and League Two players earn $95,000.
West Ham's Lucas Neill reportedly earns about £60,000 a week which converts to almost $500,000 every month, more than any MLS player's YEARLY wage outside of the Designated Players. Is he really
that much better than some of the MLS All-Stars on this list?
In the 2006/2007 season Watford had the lowest wage bill by a longshot in the EPL. Their total wages added up to about $35,000,000 for the entire squad, more than twice as much as all of the MLS all-star salaries combined.
The Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers, an original selection before being pulled away by the US Olympic squad, was the lowest paid player selected with an annual wage of $57,500.
