DP rule hasn't lured the real studs yet, but still a hit

The designated-player rule was enacted in part to lure players like David Beckham to MLS, and the floodgates now have opened. Simon Bruty/SI

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At the 1998 World Cup in France, David Beckham, Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Claudio López left their impressions on the tournament.

Beckham was sent off in England's Round of 16 loss to Argentina; Blanco scored an equalizer in Mexico's group-stage draw with Belgium; and López scored a goal in Argentina's quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands.

Ten years and thousands of miles later, each has found his way to Major League Soccer.

Under the Designated Player Rule, a club can use a DP slot to bring in a player whose salary doesn't count against the salary cap. Enacted following the 2006 season, the rule allowed Beckham to join Los Angeles, Blanco to head to Chicago and López to make his way to Kansas City.

Entering the '08 MLS season, each of the league's six designated players is older than 30 and all but one played in the '98 World Cup.

Bringing in older players under the DP rule is just a reality of life given MLS' economics. Though the salary of a world superstar in his mid-20s wouldn't count against an MLS club's salary cap, there likely would be a huge transfer fee involved. Thus, the market for designated players has defined itself and older players have become the products of this system.

But it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"[Carlos] Valderrama, Preki, [Hristo] Stoitchkov and [Peter] Nowak were all 34 when they joined MLS," notes Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis of the league's earliest stars. "The players we're signing, age 31, 32 or 33 years old, still have a number of years to contribute and are actually younger than the previous generation of MLS superstars. I don't think there is a concern that they are going to be able to contribute."

Last season, two of the five designated players stepped in and dominated the league. Juan Pablo Ángel scored 19 goals in 24 regular-season games for the New York Red Bulls while Blanco led the Fire from the bottom of the Eastern table to the conference final.

Before the DP rule, MLS probably wouldn't have been an option for either, who likely would have commanded seven-figure salaries abroad for several more years.

"It's been great for Major League Soccer in terms of adding credibility to the league, both nationally, locally and internationally, but it also just sort of expands the landscape for each individual team," says FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock. "As a general manager in this league, it just adds something to your arsenal you can use for building your team."

FC Dallas brought in World Cup winner Denílson under the DP rule last summer. And while the Brazilian midfielder was a bust, it was another well-known talent who suddenly had MLS as a viable option. Longtime U.S. national-team player Claudio Reyna was also another name player brought in, signing on with New York.

While the DP allows for the addition of a high-priced talent, exactly what players are pursued depends on each club's own goals. The Galaxy and the Fire took into account the marketing aspects of their designated players, while Kansas City and D.C. United -- which brought in ex-Paris St. Germain star Marcelo Gallardo earlier this year -- were likely more concerned with the immediate on-the-field impact.

"There are two levels of DP," Hitchcock says. "You've got the David Beckham or Blanco DP, where you're spending significant club resources on that player, and then you've got a DP similar to Denílson, that they just qualify as a designated player based on their salary."

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