Timely advice for Crew SC forward Kei Kamara: always oil the grill grates, and the thicker the cut the better. The Crew's newly minted designated player doubled his salary Wednesday when he was signed to a contract believed to be worth at least $3 million over three years, and Kamara planned to celebrate by trading burritos for his butcher's best.

Timely advice for Crew SC forward Kei Kamara: always oil the grill grates, and the thicker the cut the better.

The Crew�s newly minted designated player doubled his salary Wednesday when he was signed to a contract believed to be worth at least $3 million over three years, and Kamara planned to celebrate by trading burritos for his butcher�s best.

�Less Chipotle and more steak,� Kamara said when asked how extra money might change him.

That's quite leap, considering that when the self-acknowledged burrito junkie played for Sporting Kansas City, he once threw himself a welcome-home party by inviting fans to join him for burritos on his dime at a local Chipotle.

But Kamara, ever-smiling and quick with a joke, acknowledged that the Crew made a serious commitment to him, ending a six-week contract dispute that lasted almost the entire preseason. The regular season opens Sunday at the Portland Timbers.

Kamara represented himself in discussions with Gregg Berhalter, the Crew�s coach and sporting director. The conversations were unusually direct.

�The dynamic is a little different,� Berhalter said.

In the end, there were no hard feelings. Crew owner Anthony Precourt made Kamara the fourth designated player in team history and the second on its current roster, joining Argentine playmaker Federico Higuain.

�It�s appreciation, that�s what they showed me,� said Kamara, who was a finalist for Major League Soccer MVP after tying for the league lead with 22 goals in the regular season and adding four in five playoff games, helping the Crew reach the MLS Cup final.

�And I appreciate that, as well.�

Kamara�s contract represents a significant commitment from Precourt. By making Kamara a designated player, the Crew must pay the difference in Kamara�s cap number ($458,000 this season) and his salary.

Most MLS salaries are paid from a common pool of funds maintained by the single-entity league. But paying multiple designated players is a commitment that most of Precourt�s counterparts had already made.

Sixteen of the 19 other MLS teams had at least two designated players on their roster as of mid-February.

Kamara entered negotiations with two years left on a three-year deal that would have paid him $537,000 annually, according figures from the players� union. He exited with a seven-figure salary and a year�s extension, keeping him under contract through the end of the 2018 season.

�Sometimes things aren�t planned,� Berhalter said. �But when a guy has a season like Kei did and he means that much to the community and the club, Mr. Precourt is more than willing to show his commitment to the team and his desire for success.�

But can Kamara match what Berhalter called one of the best individual seasons in MLS history?

�That�s the question everyone is going to be asking,� Berhalter said. �But you look at the trends, at how he has been performing, at his health. You look at how we play, and there is no reason to believe that he can�t. We�re going to give him every opportunity to do so."

Kamara expects nothing to change. The Crew returns all 11 starters from its run to the Eastern Conference championship.

�I feel like I�m at the top of my career,� he said. �I proved I was part of a really good system.�

His aspirations remain the same.

�Score a lot of goals and win trophies,� he said.

How many goals?

�Hopefully, more than last year.�

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd