MLS Salaries: Notes On The Colorado Rapids

It's that wonderful time of year again where MLS salaries are released and we can all see just how much our players are making. As expected, there aren't any humongous-big salaries from our team like there are from the Red Bulls, Galaxy or Toronto FC. There are a few players making some decent coin, though. Here are some notes from the recently released salary information:

* Jose Mari is actually making more than Hendry Thomas made last year, but not by a whole lot. Thomas' base salary last year was $180,000, while Jose Mari's is $230,000. Based on guaranteed compensation, Jose Mari is making $60,000 more than Thomas did last year, all told. Considering that Thomas had reportedly been spending the entire off-season refusing to sign for the Rapids because they wouldn't sign him to a ridiculously big new contract, it's a bit disheartening to see Thomas still making $180,000 with less guaranteed compensation in Dallas this year.

* Clint Irwin got a big raise when he signed that new contract this off-season, going from $35,000 to $75,000 in the blink of an eye. And even then, that's probably going to end up being an underpayment. Just like his original signing, a good bit of business for the Rapids for a guy who many say will be the next great American goalkeeper.

* The highest paid player on the team is... not Gabriel Torres! Looking at the salaries reminds us that his Designated Player status did not come from a gigantic contract, but rather from the money they spent to sign him in the first place. Torres only makes $275,000, less than Edson Buddle's $375,000. Buddle, by the way, got a $100,000 raise from last season.

* Other players who have gotten big raises: Vicente Sanchez, Dillon Powers. Smaller raises have gone to Nathan Sturgis and Shane O'Neill.

* Brian Mullan appears to have pulled the same stunt as Jamie Smith did last year, going from well over $100,000 to only $48,500 for what will likely be his final season in burgundy.

* The base salary for high draft picks appears to be getting bigger as the years go along; Marlon Hairston is making an impressive $70,000 in base salary this season, while Grant van de Casteele is making $48,500.