By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 25, 2015) US Soccer Players - Following in the cash-lined footsteps of Giovani Dos Santos, the latest unsettled Mexican international to reportedly consider making the jump to MLS is Real Sociedad man Carlos Vela. The club most often linked to Vela in those reports is the Colorado Rapids.

This is a strange thing that causes significant wrinkling of the brow.

Not because Vela isn’t a worthwhile target for an MLS team. In fact, Vela fits the trend of the “new DP” perfectly. He’s well short of 30 years old. He has name notoriety among Mexican-American soccer fans. His talent is undeniable. You can count on one hand the number of clubs in the league who could afford to pass on his services. MLS is still not a competition that can count many players of Vela’s ability, at his age, in its ranks.

The wrinkling of the brow is a direct result of the club connected to Vela. The Colorado Rapids are not a team with a reputation for spending much on its roster. Over the entirety of the Designated Player rule’s existence, the Rapids are one of a handful of teams most conspicuous in their lack of ambition on the DP front. Not one of the club’s three total DP signings in the club’s history (two of which are still with the team, and one of whom, Juan Ramirez is a Young DP) can be called “big name.” Instead, the Rapids seems to choose their DP signings as much for their relatively low cost as for their potential to help the team win.

It’s a hard pill to swallow for Rapids fans when the man who owns the club, Stan Kroenke, cannot be said to be hurting for cash. Kroenke not only owns Major League Soccer’s Colorado franchise, he owns the St. Louis Rams of the NFL and has a controlling share of Arsenal of the English Premier League. Due to the NFL’s ownership rules, he had to divest himself of direct ownership of the Colorado Avalanche of the NFL and the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, but legal ownership of those teams remains in the Kroenke family.

The Kroenke’s are “haves.” The Rapids, despite that fact, are “have nots.”

Why that is might simply come down to revenue. Rather than invest the money it would take to raise the profile of the team in the Denver area sports scene, far from a sure thing, the Rapids have instead chosen to exist on the frugal bottom of the MLS hierarchy. The team simply doesn't make the money necessary to compete. They have their own stadium, but it's located far from the vibrant urban centers of Denver. That makes it difficult to catch the wave of young, enthusiastic support cresting over the rest of MLS. While MLS attendance is up across the board, Colorado remains a franchise that lags behind.

The easy assumption is that the interest in Vela on the part of the Rapids is all about leverage for a trade. The Rapids have his discovery rights, which does not necessarily mean they want to sign him. Instead, Paul Bravo and company might just see the rights to Vela as trade bait that will garner them some of the various mechanisms that help frugal teams maximize small salary budgets. Based on the track record of the Rapids and their apparent disinterest in spending on high profile players, this theory makes too much sense to ignore. Cynical? Maybe. Realistic? Absolutely.

MLS is a league of parity, but even with the number of built-in ways for clubs to stay competitive or turn things around after terrible seasons, it’s possible to fall behind. Sometimes that is about revenue and resources. Sometimes it’s just about will.

What if the Rapids really are interested in signing Vela and bringing him to Commerce City? A completed deal would require Vela to want to play in Colorado, of course. Maybe a lower key destination might appeal to him. While Giovani Dos Santos wanted the bright lights of Los Angeles, Vela might be more comfortable away from the Hollywood spotlight.

Actually chasing and signing Vela would represent a major step forward for the Rapids and a sign of hope for their beleaguered fans. Breaking out of the “have not” mentality could mean that ownership recognizes that the time has come to drop some funds into the product in Commerce City. Better to spend now than fall behind the rest of MLS so dramatically that there won’t be any coming back. One player, even one as good as Vela, wouldn’t necessarily turn the Rapids into an MLS Cup contender. However, his signing would mean so much more than just what he can do for the team as an individual.

There are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical about the Rapids intentions in negotiating with Vela. No MLS observers will be surprised if the club engineers a flip of the rights for the player and remains rooted in their bargain bin mentality.

At least there’s hope, for the moment. At least their fans can imagine Vela suiting up in burgundy in 2016. If Colorado wants to break out of the cycle of the “have not”, adding a major designated player is an obvious way to do it.

Jason Davis is the founder of MatchFitUSA.com and the co-host of The Best Soccer Show. Contact him: matchfitusa@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter:http://twitter.com/davisjsn.

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