New York, NY - Rank and file Major League Soccer players today expressed their excitement at a potential players strike in light of the current impasse between labor and management and the problems with the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement.
David Lopes a midfielder for the Colorado Rapids in 2014, was paid a reported $36,504. Sources say that Mr Lopes is considering making a bit more money with better health insurance in 2015 by working for Whole Foods whose average yearly salary is $39, 289. Mr. Lopes had this to say, “The potential strike presents an opportunity for me because it allows me to finally have a decision about which franchise I will join.With Major League Soccer, I play wherever the league tells me I play, but with Whole Foods I can work at the Tiffany Plaza location, the Glendale location, or even the location in Cherry Creek!”
TNN was able to speak with FC Dallas defender Stephen Appleby who was also on the Major League Soccer salary of $36,504 and asked him about the possibility of a player strike. “I, personally, am very excited as this gives me the opportunity to finally make a good living with the possibility of a long career without the possibility of debilitating head injuries later in life for at least $3,000 dollars more per year than I make now just to work at a grocery store. Look, we need free agency, balanced wages, and options to direct our own career. We also need to keep getting paid because I’m a couple months behind on rent and I’m tired of taking food from the training facilities to eat for dinner at home.”
A recent survey of players on league contracts below $50,000 per year shows that at least half of those professional players think about leaving Major League Soccer to go back to school and get a degree in Eastern Scandinavian Literature and Finnish Erotica as it offers a more competitive salary base with the possibility of tenure, something that doesn't exist in professional soccer.
Mr Appleby went on to say, “I was once traded from Columbus Crew to Red Bull New York without having my contract renegotiated. I was truly fortunate as my girlfriend, at the time, thought she was pregnant but it ended up being a false alarm. Neither of us could imagine raising a family on 36k in the Newark area, and we broke up after I found her trying to get Thierry Henry’s autograph on a personal bank check of his while in the steam room.”
The Nutmeg News will continue to cover the ongoing issues with the Major League Soccer collective bargaining agreement as they happen.