So, it appears the math didn't come out on Kenny Cooper's side.

This afternoon, the Red Bulls flipped the striker for allocation money with Cooper's hometown club, FC Dallas.

The Red Bulls, who reportedly "tried every avenue to keep him," were running into salary cap issues that would keep them from making even the smallest of moves.

So even the sort of finishing that nets you 18 goals a year isn't immune to the sort of economic questions the league's single entity structure forces on teams.

Back in December I said Cooper's future as a Red Bull was, just that, an economic one: Are all those goals worth (reportedly) $500,000 in salary? Or would salary cap freedom provide the team's brand new front office more utility.

Today we got the answer, and it's no.