Brandon McDonald Traded to DC United
By: Chris | June 27th, 2011
Brandon McDonald has been traded to DC United for an undisclosed amount of allocation money. The 25 year old central defender joined the Quakes in 2009 after being drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Over 2 and a half season with the Quakes McDonald played in 58 matches, scored 3 goals and had 3 assists.
The Quakes are in a tough spot relative to the salary cap. The Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) released salary numbers for the players in the beginning of the year, and according to their numbers the dollar amount of the players whose salaries count against the cap is $2,158,570. The following images come from Center Line Soccer.
The 2011 MLS Salary Cap is $2,675,000 per team. Assuming the numbers from the MLSPA are accurate, the Quakes have $516,430 against the salary cap to spend during the summer transfer window. McDonald’s salary is $45,000 and by trading him to DC, the Quakes get an extra $45,000 plus whatever allocation money DC threw into the pot. So now the available money pool looks something like $561,430 + allocation money.
By trading McDonald San Jose is positioning itself to make some acquisitions for another playoff push starting this summer. It is a trend that the team has continued from previous years. Last year the Quakes brought in their first Designated Player Geovanni during the summer transfer period. The trade makes financial sense for the club because the team needs extra funds. It also makes sense from a player perspective. Center back is a position where the Quakes have depth.
The team had 4 players who were capable starters, unfortunately that’s one player too many. McDonald found himself out of favor on the back line after the Quakes suffered some poor form at the beginning of the season and slipped to bottom of the player pool behind Opara and Burling. The move did not come as a surprise to McDonald, he had been told a couple weeks ago that the team was considering options. McDonald had discussed with GM John Doyle that he intended to finish out his contract but not renew with the team, instead preferring to try to break onto a European club.
It’s sad, but at the same time, I’m starting the next chapter of my career. It wasn’t that I wanted to go. It wasn’t that they wanted me to go. But for the business side of things and for me to get playing time, it made sense.
The Quakes will miss their hardworking central defender and sometimes defensive midfielder. But what the Quakes lose DC United gains. DC’s back line has been comprised of rookies nearly all season. They have suffered because of this and head coach Ben Olsen sees McDonald as a good player to provide support and leadership to a struggling back line.
I’d like to thank Robert Jonas over at Center Line Soccer for letting me use the pictures from his article about the team’s player salaries. The article can be found here.
GO QUAKES!
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