Player Salaries & Midseason Review Part 1

A few weeks back the Players Union had their annual salary drop but we were going through so many games I didn't have a chance to review it.  Now's a great time to do that, and we're going to combine it with a mid-season review.  We'll go (roughly) position, based on how they're listed on the Rapids website, and go over each player's salary and how they're doing compared to that.  Each player has two values, the first is his base salary, the second is his guaranteed compensation in 2026.  some of the contract and option years are guesses as the contract were signed before the season change was announced, so I'm not sure if a contract thru 2028 is through the 27-28 or the 28-29 season.

Goalkeepers:

Zach Steffen: $1.1M/$1.1M - Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027

I don't think its any surprise to say that Steffen isn't living up to his price this season.  By some measures he's a bottom 10 keeper in MLS this season, and he's been injured.  Nico Hansen hasn't been lights out but he's been better for cheaper.  The Rapids should expect to decline his option this offseason.

Nico Hansen: $160K/$160K Contract Thru: 2027-28 Option Years: 28-29, 29-30

As mentioned Hansen hasn't been great but he's been fine, and at almost a tenth of the price of Steffen.  I'd understand if the Rapids didn't want to name him the #1 going into 2027 (at least not yet) but he should have a shot to compete for the role along with whomever they bring in to replace Steffen.

Adam Beaudry: $113K/$115K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28, 28-29

Beaudry is a work in progress.  Loaned out for this season he's still getting U-20 callups.  As a homegrown its worth continuing to see how he grows.

Central Defenders:

Rob Holding: $1.2M/$1.2M Contract Thru: 2026

Holding has been better than I expected this year, so much so that his salary seems reasonable.  He gives veteran presence to what has been a young backline this season.  He'll be 31 at the end of the season and out of contract.  I'm not sure I want to bring him back for 7-figured, but if he'd take a high 6-figure salary I'd consider giving him a 2 season deal, maybe with a 3rd (28-29) as an option.

Lucas Herrington: $200K/$235K Contract Thru: 28-29, Option Years: 29-30

Obviously the find of the season and one of the best deals in the league.  I did not expect anything this good from an 18-year old moving over from the A-League.  His contract length is pretty much meaningless as it would be absolutely stunning to see him here by the time the 27-28 season starts.  If he plays in the World Cup and plays well we might have a hard time seeing him again in a Rapids kit, but the FO needs to do whatever they can to keep him at least through this season for the USOC run.

Noah Cobb: $130K/$130K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027

Cobb has been a good backup that has had to play more often than I'd like due to fixture congestion.  He'll be 21 next month so he's got plenty of room to grow and I think he has a good skillset.  I'd like to see him extended by a couple of seasons.

Ian Murphy: $400K/$448K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027

Who?  6 minutes of action this year.  If that's all Wells sees in him we should decline the option and release him at the end of the season.

Outside Backs:

Reggie Cannon: $750K/$842K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28

Cannon does a lot of things fine and nothing well.  He's essentially an acceptable MLS outside back being paid a TAM salary.  That doesn't work.  At the same time nobody has claimed the right back spot so there's a chance for him to have a real impact in the second half of the season.  If he doesn't it ight be worth thinking about a buyout in the offseason.  At the very least I think he's done in Colorado after next year's sprint season.

Kosi Thompson: $140K/$145K Contract Thru: 2026

He's a backup being paid like a backup.  I would hate to think he's the best we could do for a starter, but I'm not saying we give up on him either.

Keegan Rosenberry: $300K/$300K Contract Thru: 2027

Keegan is taking the Drew Moor "veteran presence on the bench" role and that's fine.  He's earned that and he can help us out being a late game sub and a very occasional spot starter.  I'm not sure how well he fits into Wells' system but that's not really what you're looking for out of him at this point.  His role is to just protect a lead late.  I'm even fine if they give him another contract at 32 if he wants one.

Miguel Navarro: $498K/$549K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28

Navarro hasn't shown yet he's been worth the "Acquire from Fire, loan to Talleres, sell to Talleres, buy from Talleres" cycle he went through but as a MLS player he's good enough to justify what we're paying him and to compete for the left-back spot.  He's in the prime of his career at 27 so I don't know that we'll see much more than this from him, but that's still better than a lot of left backs we've tried since we sold Sam Vines (the first time).

Jackson Travis: $125K/$128K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027

Travis is lucky he's a homegrown because otherwise I'm not sure he'd have a shot of sticking on the roster after this season.  For every good thing he does he does something bad.  Both he and Navarro seem to have a discipline problem too.  Again, left-back has been a tough spot for us but I think we can do better.

Central Midfielders:

Paxten Aaronson: $2M/$2.23M Contract Thru: 29-30

Aaronson's play has been a recurring topic on the blog this season.  When he's on he's earning his money and looks like the DP we signed.  He's just not on enough.  5 goals and 4 assists since he got here and he went 5 games in a row without any goal contributions in April.  He sees himself as more of a 6 than an 8, which means goal contributions aren't everything, but he's too invisible for long stretches for the highest paid player on the team and the highest cost to acquire in team history.

Hamzat Ojediran: $800K/$882K Contract Thru: 28-29 Option Years: 29-30, 30-31

The best thing you can say about a defensive midfielder is that you don't notice him when things are going well and you don't notice him when things are going badly, for different reasons.  That fits Hamzat the Destroyer this year.  He's had a couple of good offensive contributions and when our defense has broken down I've never seen him being the reason.  I'm a little concerned about how he dropped out of the starting XI the last couple of games, I'm hoping that was just due to the number of minutes we played.

Josh Atencio: $463K/$463K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28

For the first 2/3rds of the season so far I was pretty frustrated with Atencio.  He was not good more often than not and I was wondering what Wells was seeing in him.  The last week or two before the break he really stepped up though and had multiple good games.  Maybe it was just a matter of time for him to find his right spot.  He still takes the occasional stupid card but if he can keep his level like he was showing as the first half wrapped up he should be pushing for starting minutes.

Connor Ronan: $510K/$562K Contract Thru: N/A

The N/A above is because there are multiple reports that the Rapids and Aberdeen have agreed to terms for Ronan to move back to Scotland when the window opens in a week and a half.  Aberdeen is still working out the final details of the contract with Connor but there's no expectation that the deal will fall through.  So Ronan has played his last game in burgundy.  He stood out as somebody who could actually play on the awful 2023 team but he could never reach that level of impact again, possibly because the roster got better around him.

Wayne Frederick: $113K/$113K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027, 27-28

When Wells and Smith made the decision to go with Frederick as the creator and sell Bassett a lot of eyebrows were raised but so far they've been right.  Both Cole and Wayne have 2 goals but Frederick has 5 assists to the former homegrown's 2.  And Frederick is about an eighth of Bassett's salary.  Wayne is going to turn 22 later this month and he still has more to learn, but I'm somewhat confident when he starts now compared to last year when I thought it was a waste.  Like a lot of this team he needs to be smarter, see the red card he took from the bench against Dallas.

Wingers:

Ted Ku-DiPietro: $500K/$556K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28

Starting with two of the U-22 players.  Unfortunately KDP is made of glass.  At this point I think he's missed more games than he's been available for since we acquired him, coming off an injury, last offseason.  If he can stay healthy for any length of time he seems to have some real talent, but as the saying goes the best ability is availability.

Alexis Manyoma: $654K/$712K Contract Thru: July '26 (loan)

Another U-22 player.  Manyoma was brought in on a loan fee with a big purchase clause last summer.  2 starts, 15 appearances, 1 goal. Rumor leaked today that the Rapids won't exercise the purchase clause and he'll return to Estudiantes during the World Cup break.  The right move.   Another Padraig Smith summer-loan special.

Dante Sealy: $150K/$168K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027

Sealy is a 23 year old making sub-$200K that came in with the expectation (due to his acquisition cost) of being a starter and contributor.  He hasn't met that expectation but I'm not sure how much you can blame him for that.  Clearly a purchase for the future, it was just by a team who needs to be winning now.

Georgi Minoungou: $113K/$113K Contract Thru: 27-28 Option Years: 28-29

See Sealy, Dante.  Another high priced acquisition who's not yet ready to be a starter/contributor, though he's a bit closer than Sealy.  He's got the same problem as Jonathan Lewis has, in that he's not afraid to take anyone on, even at time where he should really be passing out of trouble.

Ali Fadal: $113K/$113K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 27-28, 28-29

Been on loan

Forwards:

Rafa Navarro: $1.39M/$1.45M Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28

The first half MVP.  8 goals, 4 assists.  Tailed off a little bit at the end but he was asked to play so much.  1575 out of a possible 1650 minutes.  He was subbed out of the Toronto game with 6 minutes left, and he came into the Union Omaha USOC game in the 69th minute, and otherwise he played every minute of every game, league and cup.  Its not a surprise he only had 2 goals in the last 7 games, but both were in wins.  Another one who could be pursued in this upcoming window but the Rapids have to keep him.

Darren Yapi: $795K/$820K Contract Thru: 28-29 Option Years: 29-30

Yapi got a new contract, one he earned.  Its a little high for what he contributes but as a U-22 player it doesn't hit as hard as it appears.  3 goals and 2 assists so far, on pace for double-digit goal contributions.  I'd like to see him step it up a notch after the break and really give us somebody to rely on without Navarro.

Alex Harris: $88K/$90K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28, 28-29

Had one start and 3 late game sub appearances.  Hasn't done much but you can't expect much at this point.  Good that the coach has enough confidence in him to get him on the field.

Kimani Stewart-Baynes: $115K/$116K Contract Thru: 2026 Option Years: 2027, 27-28

One appearance for 9 minutes.  He looked to be a rising star and got looks from the Canadian Nats, but he hasn't been in their picture at all leading up to the World Cup   I think he's released at the end of the season.  

Sydney Wathuta: $88K/$88K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28, 28-29

One bench appearance this season

Mamadou Billo Diop: $88K/$88K Contract Thru: 27-28 Option Years: 28-29, 29-30

2 appearances, 17 minutes.  Too soon to tell anything.

Bryce Jamison: $113K/$126K Contract Thru: 2027 Option Years: 27-28, 28-29

Been on loan

Donavan Phillip

Been on loan

What I draw from all of this is that we have enough 'replacement level' MLS players, but not enough game changers, and some of the players we're paying to be game changers (Aaronson, Steffen, Cannon) aren't getting the job done.  That matches our results where we can (generally) handle the bad-to-average teams but the good teams are running us over (for the most part).  Our talent isn't high enough to hang with the big dogs. 

This got really long already so I'm going to end it here and come back sometime in the next couple of days to do a part 2 about the coaching staff and where the team sits.

Book Review: Around The World In 80 Clubs

Last week Paul Watson's new book, Around The World In 80 Clubs, was released.  Watson is the co-host of The Sweeper Podcast, a great look at football across the planet, from the islands of Oceania to the lower leagues of Poland and everything in-between.  He also has served as a manager of multiple clubs, those being the Pohnpei State team and the national team in the Federated States of Micronesia, he helped get Bayangol FC in Mongolia started, and he consults for Thimphu City in Bhutan. Watson wrote about his experiences in Micronesia in Up Pohnpei.  Needless to say this is a very different view of football than what you normally see.

In Around The World In 80 Clubs Watson pulls together interesting football stories from across the globe.  If you're a regular listener to The Sweeper many of these will be familiar to you but this format allows him to provide more detail.  For those of us who didn't jump on the podocast right away there were plenty of new stories as well.  He separates the stories into six sections

• A Tough Place To Go - Clubs that are just hard to get to, like Saaremaaa and Hiiumaa, two island clubs in Estonia who once played their match on a ferry between the islands
• One Game At A Time - Teams with long losing (or winning) histories, such as the American Samoa team made famous in 'Next Goal Wins'
• Club Versus Country - Sides that got embroiled in situations due to their nationality, like Antigua Barracuda who played in the USL but got stuck playing all their home games in the States
• The Twelfth Man - Clubs with noticeable fan antics of experiences, including the miracle run of Bodo/Glimt last season
• Lost the Dressing Room - Sides with notable administrative gaffes, for example the Finnish women's team who recently called up the wrong Ruuskanen
• Good Team On Paper - Teams that are more than just football, like Forest Green Rovers, the world's greenest club (and the favorite club of the author, as well as our own Matt Pollard of Burgundy Wave)

Over 163 pages Watson tells 80-ish stories of professional clubs, amateur sides, and national teams and none of them are the type you're going to see on SportsCenter or Soccer Saturday.  The book is an easy read, I whipped through it in 4-5 days of reading it at lunch and before bed.  If you're like me and love the game because of how its a common language across the planet its a treasure trove of laughs and smiles and not a few head shakes.  If you're more interested in who wins the Champions League each year or where Bernardo Silva is going to end up this is probably not what you're looking for.

I got a copy a couple of days early because as a Patreon of the Sweeper Podcast Paul offered us signed copies.  Unfortunately the shipping to the U.S. (Watson is in the UK) was prohibitive but when I pointed that out he offered to send me one of his author copies.  That's exactly who he is though, he was the person responsible for organizing the Federated States of Micronesia kit sales in 2023 which kind of kickstarted the recent fad of Oceania nations getting into the kit game (of which I have taken far too much advantage of).  He and cohost Lee Wingate clearly enjoy the work they do for the podcast and bring in other people working to tell these lesser-seen stories, like Getting CONCACAFed's Jon Arnold.  I highly recommend the podcast if you're interested in this side of the game.  And just recently they did their own kit which I had to get in on.

Everyone Needs Two Months Off

Saturday night was ugly.  Its clear everyone, the players, the coaches, and even the fans, needs some time off.  18 games in 90 days works out to a game every 5 days and this team looks exactly like a team that's gone through a gauntlet like that.  Not only that, but only 4 of the 15 league games in that time were against teams who are currently not in a playoff position, and 9 of the 15 were on the road.

In this game Dallas only had 3 touches in the box, and won 2-1.  Two stupid fouls led to two penalty kicks and that's all Dallas needed.  Were the fouls soft?  Yes, absolutely, especially the second one.  Was their contact ?  Yes, in both cases.  They did not need to be PKs, but they weren't, technically, wrong.

But more important than being soft they were completely unnecessary.  On the first the back line has any danger handled.  Then Aaronson tries to make a defensive play at the top of the box, misses the ball, and catches the foot of the Dallas attacker.  Dallas' player goes down like he was shot (no, that's not a JFK reference) but the reality is that if Paxten doesn't make the challenge Herrington is in a perfect spot to step up and snuff out any danger.  Likewise on the second call the Dallas attacker is actually dribbling backwards and Georgi flies by, sticks his leg out to make a challenge, again gets nothing but the lightest touch on the attacker (who again drops like he's shot), and its another penalty.  If Minoungou does nothing the Dallas attacker is taking the ball back to a less dangerous position.

These kind of mental errors happened elsewhere as well.  Miguel Navarro is one yellow from suspension and in the 70th minute just lined up a Dallas player looking at a long ball and took him down with a shoulder charge.  Easy yellow and now he sits for the first game back.  Then in the 88th minute he does it again (though not quite as hard).  You can see the ref think about going for a second yellow and then deciding otherwise but it would have been justified.

That wasn't even the worst of it though.  In the 87th minute, after being subbed off and sitting on the bench, Frederick along with a couple of other players were haranguing the Assistant Referee about time-wasting by Dallas (which they were doing).  He obviously said something because either the AR or the 4th Official (who had come in to break things up) summoned the center cover and he was holding out his yellow card on the jog.  When he got over to Wayne though Frederick obviously said something way over the line because he demonstratively pulled his red card out and showed Frederick the door.  Wayne clapped him on the way off, which is just throwing more fuel on the fire.  So he's out too when we come back from the break.

Oh, and you noticed I haven't named the ref.  It was Ismail Elfath.  I point this out because he's the top name on CONCACAF's referee list and going into the World Cup has a real shot to be the center ref for the World Cup Final.  There's no guarantee of course.  He has to have a good World Cup. the right teams need to advance (or not advance) and there's always politics involved..  But it would be a big surprise to see him not work at least a quarterfinal and probably at least a semifinal.  Obviously every ref can have bad days and I thought his handling of things wasn't as good as I've seen in the past, but do these guys really think they can hide obvious fouls from a ref of his level?  That complaining to a center like Elfath is going to get them anything but a card?

These guys are making dumb mental errors and its costing them.  Of course, Matt Wells wasn't on the sideline for this one because of the number of cards the coaching staff has already gotten this season.  So maybe a better example needs to be set.  Colorado has a rep in this league now, averaging 14 fouls a game and a staff that's mouthy.  That's something they're stuck with and will have to adjust to going forward.  Good teams don't put refs in a position to beat them.  The Rapids are not a good team right now.

Man of the Match: Rob Holding.  I had a hard time picking somebody this game.  The guys that combined for a gorgeous goal were the guy who got stupidly red carded from the bench and the two guys who gave up unnecessary PKs.  So I went with Holding both to represent the good job the defense did in keeping Dallas from doing anything dangerous outside of the PKs but also because he had the initial line-splitting pass to spring the attack that led to the goal.

A note about what's coming here over this two month break.  I've got a new book review for you later this week, and then we're going to circle back to the salary drop from last week and merge that into a mid-season review.  I'm going to try to take a small break over the next couple of weeks too.  Then as we get into the World Cup itself I'm aiming to do something I don't think anyone else has ever done, an all-time ranking of Rapids kits.  I might drop in some general World Cup thoughts as well, and probably point out a few World Cup kits I like too.

Final Game Before The Break

This long run of 18 games in  just under 13 weeks ends tomorrow with our final match before the two month World Cup break.  Tomorrow our old friends Dallas are in town and are more rested then we are, not having a midweek game.  Regardless they've struggled against us in recent years so hopefully that continues.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 7:30pm and there's a fireworks show after the match.

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Zack Steffen (upper body), Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder)

Coach Availability:

OUT: HC Matt Wells (yellow card suspension)

Yeah, the numerous yellow cards to the bench have caught up with us.  Wells has to sit out because of them and can't be involved in pregame or halftime.  I'm sure he'll set the lineup but after that its on the shoulders of assistant coach Ally Harris.

Miguel Navarro is also one yellow from suspension.

I have a feeling hat a lot of guys are going to be running on fumes after the high of Wednesday night.  We need one more game out of Rafa and Herrington (and lets hope its not the last game in burgundy black for either of them) as they're irreplaceable but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't go 90.  Everyone else is going to be on heavy rotation I expect.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Navarro.  I almost put down a 2-2 draw, if the teams were coming off equal rest I'd like our chances to get a result here but with the added minutes I don't think we'll be able to keep up.

The Streak Is Broken!

Going into last night the Rapids hadn't beaten a MLS team in the Open Cup in 20 years.  They hadn't beat a MLS team in any knockout competition in 10 years*.  Well reset those counters because the Rapids pulled off a bit of an upset with a 2-0 win over San Jose that probably wasn't that close.  Goals right before half from Yapi and Navarro held up in what was a sluggish second half and we're on to the semifinals for the third time in our history and first time since the Miami team were still called the Fusion (1999).

* - The Rapids got 3rd place in the Leagues Cup after facing Philly in that game, but technically that game was recorded as a draw with Kicks From the Mark deciding who got 3rd place and the CCC spot

Early on Hansen came up with a big double-save to keep things scoreless though I'm not sure the first one was going in and I'm not sure how much he knew about the second one (which was very much on target and hit him in the shoulder) but after the first 15 minutes San Jose went somewhat quiet.  They had possession and corners but couldn't turn them into shots.  Meanwhile Colorado played its way into the game.  Rafa got a goal called back for offside (a call I still don't understand), then in the 39th minute Sealy found Yapi with a cross that he finished for a 1-0 lead.  6 minutes later it was the Earthquakes called for handling in the box and Rafa made it 2-0 heading to the half.

The second half was two tired team but Colorado was at home and had the momentum.  By the time San Jose started finishing shots it was too late and the shots they got weren't dangerous.  Nobody wanted to jinx things but it felt pretty confident the Rapids would see this out and they did.

With the win the Open Cup will be back at the Dick for the semifinal...in September.  Between the World Cup and the Leagues Cup that's the first open spot on the schedule.  September 15th or 16th the Rapids will host St. Louis while Columbus will host Orlando in the semifinals.  The two winners will face off in the final on October 21ist, hosted by the Columbus - Orlando winner.  Looking at the teams and the standings today you have to figure the East semi winner is probably the favorite given the home field advantage (particularly if its Orlando) but the Rapids are the best placed team in the standings of the four.  In fact they're the only one averaging over 1 point a game so far.

One note on the semifinal is that Nico Hansen goes in one yellow from suspension.  Its a long-time and a lot of games between now and September but we'll have to see how that plays into the lineup.  Do you start Hansen with the risk that he could pick up a yellow and be suspended for the final if we win?  Do you start Steffen knowing that Hansen would the be sure of being available for a possible final?  Nico is the only Rapid in this position, barring a red card in the semi everyone else would be available for the final if we get there.

Looking at the schedule in August/September we'll host FSL the last weekend of August, then a week layer we go to Columbus, go to Austin in midweek, and then host Montreal.  Then St. Louis in the semifinal, then we host Seattle on the weekend.  So another run of 5 games in two weeks.  After that there are only 8 games left in the season, and should we make the final it would be ANOTHER 5 games in two weeks where we host San Jose and Minnesota, go to Portland, go to the Final, and go to San Jose.

What this means is that once we get through (and win!) the Rocky Mountain Cup the week before Labor Day we may need to take stock of where we are and our realistic chances to make the playoffs and make any noise there.  If we're barely hanging on to s spot or are on the outside looking in the right play, in my opinion, is to punt on the regular season and go all in on the semifinal.  St. Louis, despite what they did to us a week and a half ago, is not a good team.  We should beat them at home, especially if we rotate the roster to put out a full strength rested side.  Then you're in a final and anything can happen.

This also plays into what moves we might make in the summer window.  If we're being honest, this team is very unlikely to win MLS Cup this year (but so was the 2010 team).  If all we had to play for was the playoffs you could see selling Herrington or Rafa if the right deal came along.  Now?  One game at home we'll likely be favored in from a final?  The Rapids can't sell them without either a loan-back-until-end-of-season option or being 100% absolutely sure they've got a equal or better replacement coming in.  And I mean a "we replaced McMath with Howard in 2016" level sure-thing, not a "we're throwing all the Djordje money at Aaronson as a replacement" move.  Otherwise you explain to Rafa and Lucas that we fully support them taking the next step, but there's no way we can sell them when this team has a shot at its first real success in 16 years.  As soon as this season is over though, we'll get a deal done.

This is already longer than I expected but I've got a couple more things.  First, so we don't end on a negative note, if you watched the broadcast of the game you saw that after Yapi's goal a can was thrown out of C38's section, hitting the San Jose keeper in the head.  This is, very obviously, completely unacceptable.  A combination of C38 leadership, Argus staff, and Commerce City police worked together to identify who threw it.  That person was pulled out of the stands, handcuffed, and escorted out of the stadium by CCPD (and presumably arrested).  Crap like that will not be allowed to stand in our section.

Second, on a better note, I have to tip the cap to Matt Wells.  10 days ago after the St. Louis loss I said tow rite off everything but the Rocky Mountain Cup and the quarterfinal, and I had real doubts about our ability to get either of those done.  Instead he took the team to Minnesota, stole a win, then went into Sandy and at least achieved the bare minimum, which was keeping the damage to a one-goal loss which allows us to win the RMC just by winning our home game.  And he did it by keeping guys enough rested that they were able to come out and control the game last night and get us a somewhat comfortable win.  Now we may collapse in exhaustion on Saturday against Dallas but really, who cares.  He got enough results in the last 3 games that Saturday really doesn't matter.  Any thing there is gravy.

Man of the Match: Darren Yapi.  Lots of choices last night but his well timed goal I think really punctured San Jose's hopes and gave us the belief that maybe was wavering after Rafa's first goal was VARed off.  That set up the second goal before half, at which point San Jose was done.