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It might finally be time to cut the cord on Mario Martinez returning to the Seattle Sounders. A day after head coach Sigi Schmid suggested Martinez's ongoing absence may say something about the players desire to play for the Sounders, word comes from Real Espana that the current impasses is about an inability of the player and team to agree on a contract.
El Seattle Sounders todavía tiene oportunidad de fichar a Mario Martínez. El impase está entre el jugador y el club, no hay acuerdo.
— Real España (@Real_EspanaCD) July 2, 2013
That would seem to make a fair amount of sense based on everything else we've heard up until now, as Real Espana seems keen to sell Martinez and the Sounders seem to be interested as long as the price is right. The question now is how much is Martinez really worth to the Sounders?
We know his current deal called for him to make about $75,000. If we assume his transfer fee would have doubled his cap hit, that's a already pretty hefty chunk of change to invest in a player who has only been a sporadic starter. If Martinez is angling for a raise, you could certainly see why the Sounders might be balking. It's also possible the Sounders are trying to lower the cap hit, in which case you might understand why Martinez is not inclined to re-sign, especially if he really has other potential suitors. In any case, this does not look like a situation that is going to end with Martinez wearing rave green anytime soon.