Sean Johnson great signing. Only three pieces away now.
you're right, i just re-read the CBA and we can actually only offer a 15% increase, so would be less than that 110K. the 20% increase is only allowed starting in the 2026 season.
the only way it could be more is if the league consults with the union and determines he has significantly over performed his prior contract, allowing for a higher base level.
however his earnings were top 5/6 in the league, so doubt that would be applicable here, but you never know.
i'm sure they offered other stuff off the books as MLSE has a tendency to do, but in terms of compensation the most we could offer him next year by the league's rules is 630K, and 660K the year after.
not to mention the most we can pay him next season via the league's own CBA is 630K, unless he applied for and received this:
Section 29.8 Outperformance Mechanism: The League will consult with the Union overwhether an out-of-contract player has significantly and materially outperformed his expiredcontract. In the event the League determines that a player (i) is out of contract; and (ii) significantlyand materially outperformed the expired contract, the League shall, after consultation with theUnion, enter the player in Free Agency at an amount greater than the percentage at which he isotherwise designated to enter Free Agency (i.e., 115%, 120% or 125%). For purposes ofdetermining whether a player has “significantly and materially outperformed” his contract, thefollowing factors which bear upon the player’s MLS value may be consideredi) Whether the Player earned Team or League awards he had not previously earned duringhis contract/career (e.g. Player became All-League in the final year of his contract butwas not All-League previously during his contract/career);(ii) Significant increase in objective performance metrics (goals scored, etc.) during hiscontract;(iii) Significant increase in appearances for Player’s national team during his contract;(iv) The length of time the Player has performed at a significantly and materially higher levelthan that accounted for in his current contract; and(v) Reasonable expected future performance.
It's hilarious how the moment things go well (and yes, it IS pre-season), the only things one chooses to complain about are how "we spent too much". What used to be a charitable definition of skepticism gives way to both what is uninteresting and, quite frankly, a little sad. It's just eternal pessimism to protect oneself from the lows of fandom.
Bruh, we still spent more on Bono and Westberg last year. I literally couldn't care less if SJ was below league average, there is nothing worse than seeing Bono bottle at LEAST double-digit points within that last stretch of games with LI/FB.
I spent “too much” on my cable and phone bills for years with Rogers so I don’t even care if MLSE spent too much on a few players,
SJ starting for the USMNT tonight - he won't get many starts as he's probably #2 on the depth chart.
I am genuinely pleased and a little surprised about Johnson. I just though a US team would bid what we did for him and he would choose some southern US city for taxes or proximity to home or as part of setting up a broadcasting career, or whatever.
BB rolled the bones and won. It is a huge relief. I did not want to see what Plan B was here, suspect it wasn’t great.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
transitioning from bono and mavinga to hedges and johnson adds a ton of leadership and personality to the dressing room.
both captains of previous teams and vocal leaders, incredibly underrated qualities.
we've basically got leaders in all part of the field now (sj, hedges, mb, oso, insigne, berna has taken some leadership responsibilities).
we need depth (legs) badly at midfield and depending on outgoings maybe a couple more, but the team is looking incredibly good, in terms of filling holes.
i'd imagine that the backup option wouldnt have been here at the beginning of the year and we would have had romero for the first few games, which wouldnt be great.
however im thrilled we managed to land SJ.
it speaks volumes that aprt from the other MLS teams trying to land him (only nycfc and tfc were listed as options but others tried), we also beat anderlecht and az alkmaar to him, both teams that are basically better than any team in MLS.
Ok everyone, let's all say it together: "Please God/Allah/Buddah/Spaghetti Monster who Probably Doesn't Exist, Allow Our GK Sean Johnson to have an easy shutout tonight with no possible risk of injury or even mild challenge to his confidence."
clean sheet from our boy.
Sean Johnson the GOAT.
I am not so convinced SJ would have transferred overseas. That for all the social media chatter it was ever really in the cards. I suspect any engagement and offers from the likes of AZ Alkmaar and RSC Anderlecht were agent/player stalking horse feints. IIUC... SJ is an East-Coaster with Georgia origins nee Jamaica; though in adolescence spent time in California and Florida. I believe his calculus always involved consideration for his long-time partner; well done, lucky son-of-a-gun! She is an East-Coaster as well, with Washington DC origins, and has her own career based in NYC. Agree, he likely considered other MLS Clubs since country coverage by airline red-eye flights in America are abundant. However, not many established couples are committed enough to be disciples of the Fuchs' School Of Family Life-Relationship Management. Proximity and ease of NYC to Toronto, or vice versa, door to door with Nexus is likely a 3 to 4 hour turnaround; more manageable? Possibly one contributing key factor of the several considered in his decision to play for TFC.
The DP we need but won't be able to get:
Canadian Stephen Eustaquio scores to help FC Porto win Portuguese League Cup
https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/2023/01/28/canadian-stephen-eustaquio-scores-to-help-fc-porto-win-portuguese-league-cup.html
(Here's the goal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT52ULRyn5o)
Maybe they could throw Italian Stallions-ish money at him and make the decision hard, at least.
He's on $1.03 million per year right now apparently. Give him him $5M a season and he'd have a hard time saying no. Put him in this current lineup as the starter and have Bradley or Kaye come in late.
Titles galore.
Never happen though.
Last edited by jloome; 01-29-2023 at 12:03 PM.
Eustaquio is going to go to somewhere higher up the European feed chain for an 8 figure sum transfer fee.
No free transfer there. Locked-in till mid '27. Yous wants, yous gonna pays. What is Mauro doing?