Latest news with #AdrianHanauer
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sounders owner angrily confronts players over 'Club World Ca$h Grab' warm-up shirts, per reports
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in less than two weeks. The players and ownership of the Seattle Sounders are still fighting over their pieces of the pie. Amid a stand-off over the upcoming FIFA prize pool, the Sounders player took the field Sunday wearing warm-up shirts reading "Club World Ca$h Grab." The shirts received considerable attention on social media, and even more attention from the owner's box. According to Sounder at Heart and GiveMeSport, Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer angrily addressed the team in a profanity-laced postgame address. The exact comments aren't reported, but the players felt pushed enough that they discussed the issue with reporters in a joint address on Monday. Advertisement At the center of the fight is a tournament where players are only guaranteed to receive less than 1% of the prize money if they pull off a miracle run. Why are the Sounders players angry about the FIFA Club World Cup? While the idea of the expanded Club World Cup, in which 32 teams from across the world will compete in the United States this summer, is exciting, it comes with on major issue. Those teams' players already play a full, taxing schedule, and the Club World Cup adds between three and seven games to that docket. FIFA addressed this concern the way soccer governing bodies usually do: with enormous amounts of cash. The tournament has a prize pool of $1 billion, up from the $16 million offered in the previous tournament. Advertisement By simply showing up to their own Lumen Field in Seattle and playing three group play games, the Sounders organization is guaranteed to receive $9.55 million in participation money, For every game they draw, they get $1 million. For every win, $2 million. If they get out of group play? $7.5 million. If they win the tournament, which no one expects them to do, the Sounders will walk away with more than $120 million. And it is now at this point we will tell you the players' cut of all that money, no matter what happens, is capped at $1 million. Not each. To split. The Sounders players have some issues with their Club World Cup compensation. (Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images) (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters) As Sounder at Heart broke down, the reason for this is a provision in the MLS CBS — signed in 2021, back when the Club World Cup was a minor, seven-club competition — that says players can receive a total of no more than $1 million per tournament. Advertisement So basically, the Sounders organization is on track for the deal of a lifetime, and the Sounders players want payment that reflects three games of elite soccer. And now they are publicly fighting over it less than two weeks before their tournament opener. Where does the MLS stand on the Club World Cup prize money fight? Soon after the Sounders took the field that infuriated their team owner, the MLS Players Association released a statement saying the union and its players stand united with the team and demand "a fair share" of the Club World Cup prize money. The union claimed it had "respectfully" invited the league to the table for months and had not received a reasonable proposal. It specifically called the $1 million clause out of date and ignorant of longstanding international standards for player payment in global competitions. Per GiveMeSport, one MLS source claimed the league office had regular discussions with the MLSPA over the past few weeks, with no official proposal from the union, argued that the $1 million clause is not out of date Advertisement It's also worth noting the MLSPA did agree to this CBA, but without the foresight that FIFA would springing a multi-million cash cow on the league's better clubs. The Sounders are one of three MLS squads who made the tournament, alongside LAFC and Inter Miami. Seattle was placed in Group B, alongside France's Paris Saint-Germain, Spain's Atlético Madrid and Brazil's Botafogo. Neither of the other American teams have aired out their grievances like the Sounders have, but it's hard to imagine either of those groups of players being happy with what the league is currently arguing.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MLS Preview: Seattle Sounders
As you can see on the club badge, the Sounders were founded back in 1974 when they competed in the NASL through the league's 1983 folding. After a decade-plus hiatus, the club was resurrected in 1994 and they competed in the second division American Professional Soccer League and A-League/USL First Division until 2008. In 2009, the third (and current) incarnation of the Sounders joined the MLS as the 15th franchise. Their debut season set the tone and a high bar for the club. They finished third in the Western Conference and also won the U.S. Open Cup. They are perhaps the most successful expansion franchise in terms of postseason appearances, having only missed one since their founding. In terms of trophies, they have a Supporters Shield from their 2014 campaign, won the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019, were runners-up in 2017 and 2020, and appeared in the U.S. Open finals five times between 2009 and 2014 (winning four times). In their 2022 season, when they did not make the playoffs, they won the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Clearly, this is a franchise used to being at the top. This will be a grueling season, as the club will be participating in FIVE different competitions, including the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, potentially playing upwards of 45 games! There are three owners, plus an ownership group of different investors who have shares in the club. The three owners include majority shareholder Adrian Hanauer, a local businessman who also has stakes in the NHL Seattle Kraken and was an investor in the NWSL team Reign FC. The estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and comedian Drew Carey are the other two. Original majority owner Joe Roth divested all his shares in 2019 in favor of the ownership group. DeAndre Yedlin (United States) – Defender A product of the Sounders academy, he went on to have a distinguished career with Sunderland, Newcastle United, Inter Miami and the USMNT. Clint Dempsey (United States) – Forward Spent his final five years with Seattle before retiring in 2018. Scored 47 goals in 115 games. Fredy Montero (Colombia) – Forward Former all-time goal scorer (79) and three-time season goal leader. Raúl Ruidíaz (Peru) – Forward Known as 'The Flea' (due to his small stature and speed) Current all-time goal scorer record holder (82). Share their home stadium, Lumen Field, with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. The stadium was built to accommodate regulation soccer pitch dimensions. The club awards a 'Golden Scarf' to honor community members involved in improving Seattle soccer. The only MLS expansion team to have won their first three matches (all were shutouts as well). The Sounders FC Alliance is a fan association that has voting say on team matters such as who is the general manager. They are the only club to have an in-house marching band, the Sound Wave. Their 2025 away kit displays weaving patterns from the local Coast Salish tribes. 16W – 9D – 9L for 57 points. Finished 4th in the Western Conference; 7th overall. Postseason Run Defeated the Houston Dynamo in two penalty rounds, then upset conference champs LAFC on the road with a 2-1 extra time win. Lost to eventual MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy in the conference final. It was a slow offseason for the Sounders, with limited personnel shifts. They added two quality veterans in Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola, and renewed playmaker Albert Rusnák's DP status. Their relatively old squad was boosted with a number of homegrown prospects. It will be interesting to see how the club holds up in a VERY busy and competitive season. Jordan Morris (United States) – Forward [DP] A graduate of the Sounders academy, Morris has played his entire career for Seattle (except for a brief loan with Swansea). He has 117 contributions (84 goals; 33 assists) in 245 games. Albert Rusnák (Slovakia) – Midfielder [DP] Transferred from Real Salt Lake in 2022. Has scored clutch goals in elimination games to keep Seattle alive. Stefan Frei (Switzerland) – Goalkeeper Club captain who made critical PK saves to keep the Sounders alive in the postseason. They host Charlotte FC on Feb. 22 in the late game (7:30pm PT) San Jose Earthquakes Real Salt Lake Portland Timbers Minnesota United FC LAFC LA Galaxy Houston Dynamo FC Dallas Colorado Rapids Austin FC
