As Atlanta United develops deeper knowledge and use of data analytics, we’ll be taking a look behind the curtain at some of the specific stats the club values. In this weekly content series, we examine one metric provided by StatsBomb that may not stand out on a first watch, but upon closer evaluation, is a useful tool to measure the team’s performance. This is Staying on Track presented by MARTA.
Daniel Ríos has been cooking.
The Atlanta United striker has scored four goals in the team’s previous six MLS matches. In that same time frame, Ríos also tackled on two assists, bringing his total goal contributions to six in as many matches. Goal contributions = goals + assists and is one of the best markers for determining an attacking player’s effectiveness. In addition to his latest run, his five total goals this season are tied for second-most on the team, which the Mexican striker has managed to do in just 781 MLS minutes played.
Those stats are strong numbers-wise but what makes Ríos’s performance even more worthy of notice is the quality of his performance in relation to his contract value. The striker joined Atlanta United on loan from Liga MX side CD Guadalajara (Chivas) back in March and was added on the supplemental roster.
To understand this move a little more, a supplemental roster spot differs from a senior roster spot. MLS defines these two designations as follows:
- Supplemental - The salaries of players on the Supplemental Roster (slots 21-30) do not count toward a club's Salary Budget.
- Senior - Up to 20 players, occupying roster slots 1-20, count against the club's Salary Budget and are referred to collectively as the club's Senior Roster.
When Atlanta United moved former winger Derrick Etienne Jr. to Toronto FC back in April, the transaction opened a spot for Ríos to move from the supplemental roster to the senior roster, which means currently he’s one of 20 players that count against the club’s salary budget. But this move did not change what is called his budget charge, or essentially, what Ríos costs the budget.
If we consider this in layman’s terms, think of an MLS salary budget as a budget you might make for a grocery trip to get ingredients to cook for dinner. As a shopper, you might prepare to spend a little more money on the premium items or food that’s going to make up the main course in the meal. For example, a ribeye steak or fresh salmon – items that are high-quality and maybe more difficult to supply. You might also set aside some money for items that are important to fill your pantry but aren’t necessarily the most sought after. For example, bread or asparagus or rice that are on the side to accompany the main item. The supply of these latter foods are (generally) more abundant and can be easily switched out for something else. They also might not cost as much.
These differences can apply to the roster as well. Players a club wants to spend more money on, the steak or the salmon, are called designated players. These players are given a higher allotment of the budget charge. Their talent is usually more premium or more difficult to find. They might be expected to have the most upside or make the most contributions. So, a bigger piece of the pie, the pie being the club’s budget, is given to those players.
On the senior roster, Ríos is at the senior minimum salary per the MLS roster rules ($89,716) , a charge against the club’s yearly salary budget of $5,470,000. Based on that, Ríos would be designated in the category that is important to filling out the roster, but not necessarily the price that a headlining designated player would charge.
Every now and then, though, you get a side item that is so delicious, so well-seasoned or crafted, that it might be the part you remember most about the meal. It's a unique situation, but one that could apply to Ríos. Ideally in roster construction, the players who are getting paid more will contribute more. A player with the budget charge of Ríos wouldn’t normally be expected to contribute as much as he is with his senior minimum charge.
But Ríos is proving to be the type of player capable of yielding dividends – he’s delivering in creative ways and scoring consistently for Atlanta United. He might not receive a sizable portion of the budget, but he’s put in the work to show the kind of quality he can serve on a plate.
Atlanta United's Data Scientist & Analyst Arjun Balaraman. Video by Khoury Kennedy, Atlanta United's Motion Graphics Producer and Video Editor.
