These are some great ideas, Dave. How likely do you think they are to happen?

I agree that MLS should take as much advantage of this situation as possible. I wonder, though, if they would actually be as aggressive as they would need to be for these things to go down.

I don’t think it is likely. But I liked the idea enough that I emailed Hanauer asking him to pass it on up the chain of the single entity league.

Getting those friendlies would be a publicity coup, and a financial gain for all. Seattle is going to try and face the best in Europe, why shouldn’t LA?

The PPC shouldn’t be a test, but since LA sucked so bad last year they will likely be last in the tourney’s second year.

$20 million and a couple of friendlies is a nice start, but I’m not sure it’s enough. A Beckham-for-Ronaldinho swap is floating around the internet as something that might make up for losing the league’s biggest draw. I’ve said before that I think the Galaxy have to be realistic about Beckham’s value as a footballer, but the more I think about it, the more I realize LA hold all the cards. If they have the opportunity to push Milan to pony up, they should. It’s not MLS or the Galaxy’s fault that Milan showed their hand by openly stating their desire to keep him.

But the Galaxy will lose him anyway as soon as the season is over, so that’s why they should likely move now.

How much of a tranfer fee does the Galaxy get and how much goes to the league? Of the money the Galaxy does get, how much can be used for allocation and how much goes in their pocket or is used to sign a DP.

One more thing. Dave, do you know how much allocation money Seattle has left after Montero and how much estimated room they have left under the cap?

Dave, do you have specifics of Beckham’s out? Does he have to pay the league to terminate the contract early?

TL, MLS does not formerly disclose allocation cash, although it usually leaks in the end. From my searching in the past teams tend to get about 20% of the transfer fee. Allocation cash is GOLD in this league as it allows a team to avoid the salary cap and is the only way to reasonably pay a transfer fee.

LA could get millions in allocations, and a DP slot as well. If they make this deal they would be quite a force in the summer transfer window, or next winter. Allocations are usually for 2 years.

Seattle has never disclosed how its allocation dollars were used, although it is very likely they used them on Keller and Montero. Hanauer has said that expansion teams get extra allocation dollars to help build the team. It seems as if the club is likely to have between 250 and 700k left in the cap, assuming 10% raises for the expansion draftees, the lack of Jeff Parke and a balance between contracted and allocation dollars for Montero/Keller.

The MLS Players Union releases contract data several times a year, but won’t until after March 15th at the earliest as that is the 1st roster deadline.

Sports Illustrated first reported the Out Clause.

It is a player option. There is no known fee for it. He also has a clause to purchase an MLS team after his original contract is complete.

If it’s not a buyout clause, then MLS screwed up. If it is, then I think the amount of the buyout is fairly crucial: if MLS is going to get, say $10 million from Beckham at the end of the season, why settle for anything less than that now?

Thanks Dave,

You answered all my questions except you said LA would have millions to spend in allocation money. Does that mean that if the transfer fee is $18million and they get appr. 20% 3.6 million, that they can use all of that to sign players?

Yes, the allocation money could be used basically as a cap exempt signing bonus, or as a transfer fee for a player under contract.

Thanks, Dave. I guess the only reason for selling him now is that the Galaxy would get to use their portion of the transfer fee as allocation money; I doubt they would be able to do the same with the $25 million from the buyout. Selling him now for anything less than the buyout is terrible business, but who knows how much pressure AEG would put on the league to pull the trigger anyway.

Oh, by the way, check out my site for a fairly ridiculous report by bloomberg.com on a potential “compromise” in the Beckham deal.

Sounds like you got <a href="http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/03/deal-to-keep-beckham-at-milan-officially-announced-milan-to-play-galaxy-on-july-19th-at-home-depot-c.html">some</a> of what you wanted.