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April 06, 2006

Ronaldo to the Red Bulls?

Here at SSV Blog Central, we are feeling particularly prescient today. On March 7, almost exactly a month ago, we wrote the following about Red Bull's investment in MLS:

...allow us to play a bit of "what if." The price tag (to buy the Metrostars), $30 million, is a pretty big chunk of change but it's a pittance compared to what it would take to buy, for example, a team in the English Premier League. Think about it, though—the old Champion's World tours of top European teams demonstrated that there's a market in this country for soccer played by the biggest names. We also know that AEG has proposed to its fellow MLS owners that there be one or two players on each team that are exempt from the salary cap, an idea which the press has dubbed "The David Beckham Rule."

So, what if MLS has embraced that rule? Imagine a team with, say, Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry playing just outside New York City. Would attendance go up? Could you sell TV rights to Europe so the fans there have some footy to watch in the summer when their domestic leagues are on break? Would American TV ratings go up? Yes, yes, and yes. Would owners still be making a much smaller investment than it would take to buy a team in the EPL, La Liga, or Serie A? Yes. With a recognized world star or two on each roster, MLS becomes a very different creature in the eyes of the world soccer community.

So why are we so glib? Because today, Michael Lewis of the NY Daily News and Big Apple Soccer is reporting that the Red Bulls are interested in signing Ronaldo from Real Madrid. Wait, it gets better—Ronaldo is also interested in playing for the Red Bulls.

Read the article. It's good stuff, and there's a hilarious quote from Mo Johnston.

We'll also offer up one other observation. The article mentions that Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and David Beckham each only make $8.25 million annually from playing soccer—the rest of their vast incomes is derived from endorsements and image rights. By comparison, Ken Griffey Jr. is going to make nearly $13 million this year playing baseball for the Cincinnatti Reds. The average salary in Major League Baseball was nearly $2.5 million in 2005. Shaquille O'Neal is making $20 million this year to drag his body up and down a basketball court. The average NBA player makes about $4 million.

My point? American sports owners are not afraid of writing big checks to their players. If MLS owners get a good return on investment from the Beckham Rule, watch out—because the world of soccer will change very, very quickly.

Posted by Jay at April 6, 2006 01:16 PM

Comments

BS
the difference between ny and salzburg:

www.transfermarkt.de

Posted by: Driblanski at April 27, 2006 02:09 AM

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. The web site you refer to has some intersting information but it only lists a few of the players on SV Salzburg -- er, Red Bull Salzburg -- and its asessment of US players is both incomplete and inaccurate. Their listing of the U.S. National Team, for example, includes Tony Meola (who will never appear again for the side now that he has his 100th cap), neglects to mention Tim Howard (who plays for Manchester United and only two seasons ago was rated best keeper in the Premiership) as the number three USA keeper, and also omits U.S. regulars like Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Clint Dempsey. I'm sure they do a much better job with German players but they are not a good source of info on US players. I can only hope that the coaching staffs of Italy, the Czech Republic, and Ghana rely on it exclusively! 8^)

Posted by: Jay Hipps, SSV at April 30, 2006 10:02 PM