Sounders 2014 salaries: Big raises for Lamar Neagle, Osvaldo Alonso, DeAndre Yedlin

As expected, Lamar Neagle, Osvaldo Alonso, DeAndre Yedlin and Brad Evans all received hefty raises in 2014, according to documents released by the MLS Players' Union. What was slightly less expected was how big of a pay cut many players took in order to join the Seattle Sounders this offseason.

Chad Marshall took a 20 percent cut (quite contrary to the "poison pill" the Sounders were reportedly being forced to swallow), Kenny Cooper took at a 22 percent reduction and Stefan Frei took a 25 percent hit. Although I'm a bit skeptical of the number, Marco Pappa is also reportedly making just $75,000 this year.

Those weren't even the biggest hits, as Tristan Bowen (55 percent), Cam Weaver (55 percent) and Chad Barrett (23 percent) all took substantial reductions in order to essentially become role players in Seattle.

Still, the team's total compensation did go up over the offseason, which is due mostly to Clint Dempsey apparently getting 33 percent more guaranteed compensation during his first full preseason. The Sounders, as a team, are spending about $11.8 million on player salaries (which includes the $294,000 they apparently had to pay Shalrie Joseph to walk away). That's the third highest total in MLS, behind Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy and just ahead of the New York Red Bulls.

As with all salary releases, these numbers should not be taken as gospel, though. We know, for instance, that Osvaldo Alonso must be making more than the $400,000 salary that he's listed at. In order to count as a Designated Player, he'd likely need to be making at least $100,000 more than that. Endorsement deals, for instance, often count against the salary cap but do not show up in the players' union data. This number does suggest, however, that it would be within the realm of possibility to lower his cap hit below DP level.