1. MONEY MATTERS: Whatever strides MLS has made since it kicked off in 1996, the gap between what it can pay players and what they can earn abroad is still vast.
At $500,000, Freddy Adu will be the most highly paid player in MLS this season. He will be one of approximately four dozen players who will earn $100,000 or more in 2004.
2. JOLLY OLD ENGLAND: Brian McBride will more than quadruple his MLS salary ($341,250) by moving to English Premier League club Fulham. Had not Blackburn tried to change contract terms at the last minute he would be joining Brad Friedel and not Carlos Bocanegra.
Terms had been agreed upon with MLS for a transfer (600,000 pounds/$1 million) and with McBride for his salary (1 million pounds/$1.6 million), but the deal foundered when, according to a source, CEO John Williams tried to boost the transfer price and insert into McBride's contract a clause his salary would be cut by 50 percent if the team is relegated.
McBride and MLS balked. Fulham, which was losing its battle to hold on to striker Louis Saha, stepped in to snag McBride and reportedly offered a bit more salary as well.
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