The Worst-Paid MLS Players

Source:  mlssoccer.com

MLSsoccer.com rated Dax McCarty as the best of the under-rated players in 2012.  Bettor.com has a top 5 list (or is it bottom five):  including Kei Kamara, Brad Davis, A.J. De La Garza.  Brian Carroll tops CNNSI's list.

Using a very simple formula, with data provided by mlssoccer.com itself, none of these players make my top 10.  I use the Castrol Index which gives a score from 0 to 850 -much like an SAT score, the higher you get the better.  The New York times has a lot to say about Opta's new player scoring system.

And much like an SAT score, these data are open to debate.  But they do provide an easy way to compare across positions - as evidence, three GKs make my list while none are selected by the other websites.

I take the percentile (same as with SATs) for the Castrol score of all MLS players - the higher the percentile, the better the player.

Next I figure out the value for money of the player by taking the player's compensation and dividing it by the Castrol Index score.  This is a measure of how much they get paid for their quality.  A high-value-for-money player will have a lower dollar value here.

To consider how underrated a player is, I look at the difference between how good a player is and subtract how much a payer is paid for being good.  The bigger the gap, the more under-rated the player.

Simon Dawkins made $50,000 last year, plying his trade for San Jose.  He was one of the very best players in the league - he was in the 95th percentile.  However, he had the second lowest cost per Castrol point.