Matt Turner signs new contract with Revolution - was it the right move?

The Revolution announced Wednesday morning that they have re-signed goalkeeper Matt Turner to a new multi-year contract, which will keep him with the Foxborough outfit for the foreseeable future.

As per club policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Turner, who made a career-high nine stops in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls, originally signed with the Revs in March 2016 after winning a spot on Jay Heaps’ penultimate roster following a successful preseason trial, and spent portions of his first two professional seasons on loan with Richmond of the USL. He made his Major League Soccer debut on Mar. 3, 2018, and has since made 40 starts.

The start of his 2019 was rocky for the Park Ridge, N.J. native, but became New England’s No. 1 shortly after the club fired Brad Friedel and has only missed two contests since due to a red card suspension delivered in June.

BSJ Analysis

A part of the puzzle for Year 25 — 2020 — and beyond has snapped into place.

The question is: is this the right move at this point in time for Matt Turner?


The reason I ask? Major League Soccer's Collective Bargaining Agreement is up at the end of the season -- coincidentally, so was Turner's contract -- and there are so many unknown variables right now, such as the amount of money going to the players, and whichever new funding mechanism Don Garber and Co. come up with on a napkin at some Manhattan bistro this winter.

Discretionary TAM, anyone?

And we're hoping he signed for a considerable sum: Turner made $76,000 according to this year's salary numbers; last year, he made $67,500, and he has pried the No. 1 job away from Brad Knighton as well as Cody Cropper, now in Hartford. And while we can't say for sure if this is a contract that is equivalent to that of what a franchise keeper would make -- the MLS Players Association, in an email to BostonSportsJournal.com, refused to comment on the contract details, and the Revs front office, in an email, said they weren't ready to discuss what Turner's contract meant in those terms -- all I'm saying is that if the Revs are going to pay Turner X, every other keeper the club signs should be below whatever Turner makes.

For reference: Cropper makes $77,520. Knighton makes $111,253 in base salary this year.

It could be that Turner wanted to secure his future here in New England -- he’s saying the right things that should keep the supporters happy: “I'm thrilled to continue my career with the club that took a chance on me as an undrafted rookie from a small school, invested in my development, and gave me an opportunity to prove myself at this level,” Turner said in a club statement. “I can't wait to continue playing in front of The Fort, expand my work in the community, and hopefully bring a championship to this great city that I now consider my home.” -- and wanted to get this over and done with. That's fair.

Back on May 11, interim coach Mike Lapper said that Turner was his No. 1, and it looks like that will be the case for the time being. We have absolutely no problem with this, especially given the things we’ve seen from him in recent months. His decision-making has been solid — since his return from goalkeeper purgatory during the first two months of this season, I haven’t seen a goal that was entirely his fault since August 4 last season — his distribution has been much, much better than it was last season, and his general awareness, with the exception of plowing into DC United’s Wayne Rooney on May 25, has been better.

There are always things to learn when it comes to positioning, but installing Turner in front of the onion bag has been one of the biggest parts of the Revolution’s turn-around.

Not only that, he has command of the locker room, and he’s been a growing presence of leadership on and off the field.

He's earned a new contract, that's for certain.