Andrew Wenger #1 Pick in MLS Draft

[devilsadvocate85]

Just announced as the overall #1 pick.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Cool! :cool: Congrats Andrew!

[Mike Corey]

Congrats to Mr. Wenger.

He becomes the fifth top pick in Duke sports history (I believe), alongside Art Heyman, Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving and Lindsey Harding.

We'll get a #1 pick in the MLL Draft soon enough. (Matt Danowski was second when he went pro.)

[MCFinARL]

Congrats to Mr. Wenger.

He becomes the fifth top pick in Duke sports history (I believe), alongside Art Heyman, Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving and Lindsey Harding.

We'll get a #1 pick in the MLL Draft soon enough. (Matt Danowski was second when he went pro.)

Actually, I think Ned Crotty was the first pick in the 2010 MLL draft--and his Goduke.com bio confirms this. So there is another one.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=792816

Congratulations to Andrew Wenger!

[Mike Corey]

I'm such an idiot.

Excellent news!

[Oriole Way]

Isn't Wegner good enough to play overseas?

[blazindw]

Isn't Wegner good enough to play overseas?

I think he'd flourish in a few European leagues, like the English Championship or even Sweden. However, more and more college players are starting off in MLS, which is great for the league. They get lots of playing time, they get to improve their stature and, later on, collect on that contract. Plus, to play in England, he would require a work permit. Work permits are traditionally granted to players who prove extraordinary talents, which basically means they're a mainstay on our national team. Wenger's not that far yet, so that limits his European options at this time. However, I believe he will factor in the U.S. Olympic Team (U-23) this summer; he reports to their camp next week for training.

[Oriole Way]

I think he'd flourish in a few European leagues, like the English Championship or even Sweden. However, more and more college players are starting off in MLS, which is great for the league. They get lots of playing time, they get to improve their stature and, later on, collect on that contract. Plus, to play in England, he would require a work permit. Work permits are traditionally granted to players who prove extraordinary talents, which basically means they're a mainstay on our national team. Wenger's not that far yet, so that limits his European options at this time. However, I believe he will factor in the U.S. Olympic Team (U-23) this summer; he reports to their camp next week for training.

Thanks for the info - I consider myself a decently-versed soccer fan, but am not familiar with how often top US players make themselves available for the MLS draft, as opposed to going overseas right away. I just know that Landon Donovan hurt his development by staying in the U.S. Not saying Wenger is that good, but he seems to be one of the better college players to come out in a while, and I'd like to see him develop so that he can help the national team down the line.

[-bdbd]

What kind of money is he likely to make in the MLS as a #1 overall pick?

Does it matter what team he'll play for?

[blazindw]

Thanks for the info - I consider myself a decently-versed soccer fan, but am not familiar with how often top US players make themselves available for the MLS draft, as opposed to going overseas right away. I just know that Landon Donovan hurt his development by staying in the U.S. Not saying Wenger is that good, but he seems to be one of the better college players to come out in a while, and I'd like to see him develop so that he can help the national team down the line.

I'd argue that Landon Donovan didn't really hurt his development being in MLS, and at the same time he upped the level of competition here as well. Also, traditionally, if you're going to college to play soccer, you weren't good enough to go pro out of high school and chances are you're not going straight overseas after college. We've seen that rule change a bit in the past (one close example is our very own Mike Grella, who went to Leeds United after Duke (currently plays at Brentford). Wenger will be in Europe one day, but it doesn't help his talent to be in Europe sitting on the bench. Getting a lot of playing time will help him get better and if he can play in the Olympics, that's loads of experience that will only help him grow.

[Bluedog]

What kind of money is he likely to make in the MLS as a #1 overall pick?

Does it matter what team he'll play for?

Knock yourself out:
http://www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.html

Looks like there's a HUGE disparity between the "haves" and "have nots" in the MLS, with the minimum salary being $32k and nine guys making over $1M (with David Becham #1 at $6.5M). I don't know how the rookie payscale works, but I'm sure you have to be established to get the higher contracts. I guess you could look for the #1 pick over the past few years and where they're at now. And, on a club basis, Portland only spent $2.6M on player salaries while the Red Bulls spent $13.4M, so it varies widely. LA is #2 at $12.4M and then it drops all the way down to $4.2M in the #3 spot (Toronto).

[blazindw]

Knock yourself out:
http://www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.html

Looks like there's a HUGE disparity between the "haves" and "have nots" in the MLS, with the minimum salary being $32k and nine guys making over $1M (with David Becham #1 at $6.5M). I don't know how the rookie payscale works, but I'm sure you have to be established to get the higher contracts. I guess you could look for the #1 pick over the past few years and where they're at now. And, on a club basis, Portland only spent $2.6M on player salaries while the Red Bulls spent $13.4M, so it varies widely. LA is #2 at $12.4M and then it drops all the way down to $4.2M in the #3 spot (Toronto).

His salary will depend on whether he's Generation Adidas or not (I believe he is in that class). Generation Adidas is a joint venture between U.S. Soccer and adidas (originally called Project 40 and run with Nike) to encourage American players to enter MLS from college (only applies to early entries). The best part is that the program guarantees college scholarships for players to finish their degrees if their career doesn't work out.

If Wenger is GA, he'll receive a lot more with his contract than if he's not. I'd imagine he'll earn around $150K his first season with a GA contract.

EDIT: He is Generation Adidas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_adidas#2012

[blazindw]

A busy 24 hours for Andrew Wenger. After the MLS Superdraft, he flew out to join his U.S. U-23 teammates for training. His first test: a scrimmage against the U.S. national team. Wenger started and played the first half in a 4-0 USMNT win over the U-23s.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/01/lessons-learned-as-us-senior-squad-defeats-under-23s-4-0-in-scrimmage.html#more