Money Money Money Mo-ney!

By: Martha | May 4th, 2007

I <3 money In a switch from its previous policy of secrecy, the players’ union just released its salary list, so we can see for ourselves which players are steals and which are making out like bandits (apart from the Beckham guy, that is).

As one might expect, the biggest earners for RBNY are Juan Pablo Angel, who is guaranteed nearly $1.6 million this year and wor Claudio, who will make slightly over $1.25 million. Those numbers make the pair the third and fourth highest-paid players in the league, behind only Beckham (earning upwards of $6 million total) and Chicago’s Blanco, who will make about $2.7 million; it also, comparatively, makes them steals, at least if they produce at the level of which they’re capable. Angel, in particular, could potentially set the league on fire and make us feel guilty for paying him a mere $1.6 million.

Also rolling in the dough, surprisingly, is Dema, who will make nearly $200,000 this season, guaranteed — that total puts him almost on level of the Walrus and Dave van den Bergh, both of whom have significantly more experience and success in the Footballing Real World. Anyone know how much Dema made last year? It’s not that I don’t love the guy, that just seems like a lot of money for a player whose primary value is his badassness. (And, again, I adore Dema. I’m just sayin’.) Less surprisingly, one Cletus Mathis is also doing alright for himself, earning $410,000 this season, though I’m too unclear on his acquisition to know what percentage of that we’ll be paying.

At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, are guys like Dane Richards, who is earning the $30,000 league minimum for senior players, and fellow rookie Mr. Sinister Ubiparipovic who, along with Joe Vide, Jerrod Laventure and a handful of others, are all making a maybe-livable — assuming you eat nothing but ramen — developmental salary of either $12,900 or $17,700. Man, I sure as hell hope Captain America takes the youngsters out to dinner. Like, a lot. Otherwise, they may be weak from hunger by the last few weeks of the month as their paychecks run out.