2010 Wizards Salaries

Today the MLS Players' Union released this year's player salaries which means it's time to take a look at who is over paid, under paid, and just about right. First, here's the Wizards players' salaries.

KC Aiyegbusi Olukorede D $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00
KC Arnaud Davy M $ 220,000.00 $ 228,750.00
KC Auvray Stephane M $ 140,000.00 $ 148,125.00
KC Beasley Jamar M $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00
KC Besler Matt D $ 50,600.00 $ 61,850.00
KC Bunbury Teal F $ 65,000.00 $ 163,000.00
KC Chhetri Sunil F $ 100,008.00 $ 110,008.00
KC Conrad Jimmy D $ 232,750.00 $ 244,000.00
KC Diop Ibrahim M $ 57,000.00 $ 58,250.00
KC Escobar Pablo D $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00
KC Espinoza Roger M $ 75,000.00 $ 108,750.00
KC Harrington Michael M-D $ 78,516.00 $ 97,266.00
KC Hercegfalvi Zoltan F $ 168,000.00 $ 168,000.00
KC Hirsig Santiago M $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00
KC Hohlbein Aaron D $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00
KC Jewsbury Jack D $ 145,000.00 $ 154,125.00
KC Kamara Kei F $ 180,000.00 $ 182,500.00
KC Kronberg Eric GK $ 56,000.00 $ 56,000.00
KC Leathers Jonathan D $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00
KC Myers Chance D-M $ 70,000.00 $ 142,000.00
KC Nielsen Jimmy GK $ 100,000.00 $ 141,666.67
KC Rocastle Craig M $ 96,000.00 $ 102,062.50
KC Smith Ryan M-F $ 125,000.00 $ 129,375.00
KC Wolff Josh F $ 220,004.00 $ 220,004.00
KC Zusi Graham F-M $ 40,000.00 $ 40,000.00

The first amount is the players' base salary, which counts against the cap. The second is the players' guaranteed compensation salary, which is basically their base salary plus their guaranteed bonuses annualized. For a better break down, read the information on the players' union website.

Here's a bit of a break down.
Jimmy Nielsen is making $100,000 base salary, that's compared to Kevin Hartman's $70,000 at Dallas currently. My understanding that Hartman's contract negotiations were not as much about money as it was about length of contact. Still it's hard to argue with the move now anyways as Nielsen has proven himself to be more than capable of replacing Hartman.

Some of the other players who are earning their money are Ryan Smith and Stephane Auvray. Although both are making over $100K, they're definitely earning it for their play this season. Some lower level pay earners that are playing above their pay level are Pablo Escobar and Graham Zusi. Escobar has had some up and down moments, but has definitely been worth his $40,000 a year with some solid performances against the likes of Seattle, LA, and Columbus. Zusi has contributed plenty in the absence of Auvray and has done a good job, improving each time he's gotten on the field.

As for some players that aren't exactly earning their salary. The biggest one that comes to mind is Josh Wolff who is making just over $220,000. Wolff has one goal and one assist this season and has been frustrating to most fans when he's out the field. Another one making more than I think many fans think he should is Craig Rocastle who is making close to $100,000. Rocastle could already have 3 red cards this season if different referees were in the game. It just seems like quite a bit for a player who was playing in the 5th division in England before coming to KC. Sunil Chhetri is another one that would appear to be over paid, as he's only played 45 minutes for the Wizards in a US Open Cup qualifier and has yet to make the bench for the first team, even when they were struggling to score goals.

Overall, adding up the base salary of all the players on the roster (not counting Teal Bunbury, Roger Espinoza, and Chance Myers who are roster exempt as Generation Adidas players) and the Wizards are using about $2,283,878 of the $2,550,000 cap. That leaves the Wizards with about $266,000 of cap space left. Not enough at the moment to bring a DP, but with allocation money, and the potential extra space from a waived player to make roster room and there's space for a designated player.