As I mentioned in my first post on Monday, I’m a huge soccer fan. So it should come as no surprise that I’m pretty pumped about today’s MLS SuperDraft being held in Baltimore. (SuperDraft is just the fancy term they use for draft.)
Like any good fan would do, I spent part of my morning reading scouting reports on the top recruits and hoping that Stephen King and Spencer Allen, two players from my alma mater, the University of Maryland, will both get chosen. (King’s being projected as a mid-draft pick; Allen is expected to be a very late choice if selected.)
Now I’m the business blogger, not a sports blogger,so of course this story has a money angle to it.
Did you know that last year Maurice Edu, another Maryland alum (yes we’re good at soccer), and last year’s first round draft pick, made $130,000 in his rookie season? The fourth round draft pick only made $30,000.
Compare that for a minute to what first round draft picks in most other major sports make. JaMarcus Russell, who was the first pick in the NFL draft last year made something around $3 million in his first year of his six year deal. Last year’s MLB first pick, David Price, got a six-year deal worth $8.5 million. Greg Oden, the first pick in the 2007 NBA draft, netted about $3.8 million as a rookie.
210?
Heard love train on XM. Classic
Kinger and Allen's mugshots make them look like astronauts. I bet they'd make a better salary if they were astronauts.
From NASA.gov:
Q. What is an astronaut's salary?
A. Salaries for civilian Astronaut Candidates are based on the Federal Government's General Schedule pay scale for grades GS-12 through GS-13. Each person's grade is determined according to his/her academic achievements and experience. Currently, a GS-12 starts at $65,140 per year and a GS-13 can earn up to $100,701 per year.
Consider the difference between the number of minutes (or games if you'd prefer) Edu played in his first season versus games Russell played. Edu started and played in 25 of Toronto's 30 games (83%) while Russell held out signing his contract until after Oakland's season began and was only prepared to play in 4 out of their 16 games (25%) and started only 1. Clearly there is a major discrepancy in the contribution each player had to their team and the amount of money that they were paid. Something in our society is out of balance.