Top > Sport > 2005 > July > 2005-07-13

26 percent of MLS players live paycheck to paycheck

26% of Major League Soccer (MLS) players in the United States earn less than $20,000...that`s 86 out of 331 players in the league, which has been around for 10 years now.

MLS is a ",single-entity", operation, meaning the league owns and negotiates all player contracts. For all of its 10 years, the league has scrupulously guarded salary figures and said that all teams must operate on a budget of less than $2 million a year for player salaries.

Recently, however, the league has reached deep into its pockets to accommodate a select few players leaving others feeling underappreciated and underpaid. MLS officials have stated in the past that their salary structure is very flexible and that players will be rewarded for their loyalty, their level and quality of play on the field and foremost the league`s desire to forestall their movement to Europe.