Onward! -- Draft, schmaft!

[Ben Knight]

I really don't like drafts.

http://onwardsoccer.com/2009/01/14/d...ssenting-view/

// Ben

[Beach_Red]

^ How do you feel about athletic scholarships?

[Ben Knight]

Not as hostile, because those are at least negotiated on an open market. Certainly there are abuses there, but that's another story for another day.

[Beach_Red]

Well, it's linked here. (now the junior hockey draft is just insanity, no way around that). When a player takes an NCAA scholarship it comes with a lot of restrictions - they have to maintain a certain grade average, play on the team, and so on (lots of abuses sure), and they have to be part of the draft. If they don't want to be, the time to say so is before taking the scholarship. There are other ways to a profesional athletic career.

The whole concept of "open market" becomes tricky in sports when you need a number of teams to make up a league. For now, as misguided as it may be, the clear model for MLS is the NFL - financially viable teams and different champions pretty much every year (usually a different final four every year) which makes for a string league, not just a few strong teams.

I know if I could have received a free education and been "drafted" by a publisher instead of offering my novels in the "open market" I likely would have done that. Especially when rookie salaries are so close from one tem to another.

[Ben Knight]

Beach, I agree with you. But I'm not talking about the teams/schools/publishers who make you an offer. I'm arguing for all the offers you DON'T get because huge parts of the market are artificially restricted from approaching you.

If I applied for work at the Globe, for example, and was told I'd been picked up by the Raging Jackass Falls Picyune-Gazette in the supplemental draft -- well, it's going to one heck of a fight!

[GeorgeB]

i thought they got rid of the supplemental draft ?

[Cambridge_Red]

I think the drafts feeds teams located in "undesireable" locations ie. Sault Saint Marie. The difference from a place like europe is ofcourse the size, a youngster in europe is meer hours away from home no matter where he/she decides to play. I do agree though with your rant but cold and moody northern Ontario would cease to attract talent if the draft wasn't in place. Same could be said for TFC in the MLS.... just sayin

[Steve]

Beach, I agree with you. But I'm not talking about the teams/schools/publishers who make you an offer. I'm arguing for all the offers you DON'T get because huge parts of the market are artificially restricted from approaching you.

If I applied for work at the Globe, for example, and was told I'd been picked up by the Raging Jackass Falls Picyune-Gazette in the supplemental draft -- well, it's going to one heck of a fight!

Nonono, Ben, you're completely getting this wrong. You're thinking of the teams as seperate entities, they aren't. They are just branches of the same entity. So, if you applied to the Globe and Mail, and they said "we'll give you a job in saskatoon" (don't ask why) you can either accept, or not. Even if your services can be used in Toronto, if the company as a whole thinks you'd be more beneficial in saskatoon, they will do that. Again, they aren't taking away anyone's rights! As a single entity structure, they have every right to only offer a single location to incoming players, it isn't artificially limiting their choice, and I see no problem with it.

[Beach_Red]

Beach, I agree with you. But I'm not talking about the teams/schools/publishers who make you an offer. I'm arguing for all the offers you DON'T get because huge parts of the market are artificially restricted from approaching you.

If I applied for work at the Globe, for example, and was told I'd been picked up by the Raging Jackass Falls Picyune-Gazette in the supplemental draft -- well, it's going to one heck of a fight!

Yes, I think we mostly agree. The only difference is the words, "huge part of the market artifically restricted." It's an agreed upon restriction for a few years, not such a huge one. All players' associations and leagues in North America have had things like free agency evolve over many negotiations.

Each player can decide if they want to go to the NCAA and then the draft, but the league has to think of the whole league. The draft works well for the NFL and NBA and although players have fought the leagues in court over later free agency, none of them seem to have much of a problem with the draft.

Of course, if one team was going to offer a rookie five times as much money as the others, that would get the lawyers kicking into action.

[scooter]

ben
liked your blog and nigel's too good to hear from him again
something i have not really thought about because its the
north american way with hockey and north american football
i guess basket ball too
so yes maybe we need to start to talk about this a little more
for the future of football (soccer) on this continent
boy its funny how the usa and mls have to try to north americanize
the beautiful game

[Don Julio]

No amount of success is worth living in Columbus.

[RedRum]

Great article Ben.

I never really though about it until now but you are right, the concept of a draft is pretty fucked up.

[Cashcleaner]

Nonono, Ben, you're completely getting this wrong. You're thinking of the teams as seperate entities, they aren't. They are just branches of the same entity. So, if you applied to the Globe and Mail, and they said "we'll give you a job in saskatoon" (don't ask why) you can either accept, or not. Even if your services can be used in Toronto, if the company as a whole thinks you'd be more beneficial in saskatoon, they will do that. Again, they aren't taking away anyone's rights! As a single entity structure, they have every right to only offer a single location to incoming players, it isn't artificially limiting their choice, and I see no problem with it.

My thoughts exactly! Nobody is twisting anyone's arms here and you could make a similar argument about the very concept of trading players between clubs (ie: individuals as commodities).

[Pachuco]

Nonono, Ben, you're completely getting this wrong. You're thinking of the teams as seperate entities, they aren't. They are just branches of the same entity. So, if you applied to the Globe and Mail, and they said "we'll give you a job in saskatoon" (don't ask why) you can either accept, or not. Even if your services can be used in Toronto, if the company as a whole thinks you'd be more beneficial in saskatoon, they will do that. Again, they aren't taking away anyone's rights! As a single entity structure, they have every right to only offer a single location to incoming players, it isn't artificially limiting their choice, and I see no problem with it.

Something to think about though. NHL, NFL, NBA all have draft systems. In which case your argument wouldn't stand. So I ask you and everyone else making this same argument, does this mean that you have a beef with the draft in all the other north america sports except MLS? I just don't think that the draft system is in place simply because MLS owns a portion of every team. It's in place because that's the way they do things in North America, and in that case, I have to agree with Ben.

[Mark in Ottawa]

So a player gets drafted... big deal. Thay aren't endentured servants.
They are free to shop their talents to whoever will pay.
Don't like the way the draft is run? Don't submit your name to it or simply state up front your intentions to play one place or another. Hockey players do this all the time when they commit to school over major junior hockey.

The sad part is seeing all of these youngsters with their hopes up and then being deflated by either not being drafted as high as they expected to be or not at all.
It is also important to remember that the smiling faces you see on draft day are prospects and for many the day is the highlite of their career as they are destined to fail to make the grade and perhaps never be heard of again.

[rocker]

if the draft was illegal it would have been outlawed years ago.

so any arguments relating to freedom and to teams ability to "artificially limit the employment rights of incoming talent" are forgetting the legality of it.

i agree with the arguments that the draft actually helps, not hinders, players. it creates a notoriety for players, it forces teams to scout a wider range of players.. and the combine gives them publicity to all teams, not just the teams that scouted some players.

And as we've seen with players like Marcus Tracy, nobody is forced to ply their trade in MLS. There are many leagues they could play in, if they like. There's also a thing called the USL if they want to play in America

Let's also not forget that 9 of those players just got deals that probably pay them more than they could get in Europe, and those deals guarantee them that money for 3 years, whether they play or not.. and guarantees them a completed education some day. That's pretty sweet.

[denime]

My thoughts exactly! Nobody is twisting anyone's arms here and you could make a similar argument about the very concept of trading players between clubs (ie: individuals as commodities).

"trading players between clubs" is N.American way of doing things,I don't remember one transfer in soccer anywhere in the world where two or more teams traded their players.

I have to agree with Ben on this.Players have the chance to negotiate with as many clubs as they want everywhere in the world except in N A.
or what about that stupid rule that MLS club can sign only one player per year from their own youth academy?

[Roogsy]

If you guys really want to help Ben, some of these comments should be made on his site. It could get some nice conversations going with people who aren't on the RPB boards.

[Beach_Red]

"trading players between clubs" is N.American way of doing things,I don't remember one transfer in soccer anywhere in the world where two or more teams traded their players.

It's not a rule or anything, sometimes players are traded for money (it's not common like "transfer fees" are in Europe, but it happens), or the team bus, or used goalie equipment, or....

[denime]

If you guys really want to help Ben, some of these comments should be made on his site. It could get some nice conversations going with people who aren't on the RPB boards.

Fair enough.

[T_Mizz]

"trading players between clubs" is N.American way of doing things,I don't remember one transfer in soccer anywhere in the world where two or more teams traded their players.

I have to agree with Ben on this.Players have the chance to negotiate with as many clubs as they want everywhere in the world except in N A.
or what about that stupid rule that MLS club can sign only one player per year from their own youth academy?

I'm a Juve supporter and when they got Amauri we gave up a "prospect" in Molinaro I believe, but that was in addition to giving up a substantial transfer fee.
IMO Transfer fees make more sense to a degree as its no longer the archaic bartering system but instead it's a currency so if the other team has no "commodities" that you need you simply get the currency from them and spend it elsewhere on what you do want/need