USMNT G Tim Howard is "officially a member" of the Rapids, and he will join the club in July "following the conclusion" of his EPL season with Everton, according to Daniel Boniface of the DENVER POST. Howard: "It just seemed to be the right move." Yesterday's signing came "two days after the Rapids announced they had extended their jersey sponsorship deal with Transamerica" through '19. Howard's deal runs through '19 and is worth about $2M annually (DENVERPOST.com, 3/20). Boniface writes the Rapids in a span of 16 days "went from being an also-ran squad in the Denver suburbs to the destination spot for U.S. national team stars." Howard joins MF Jermaine Jones, who signed with the team on March 4. Rapids VP/Soccer Operations and Technical Dir Paul Bravo said, "This puts us in a conversation with the Toronto FC's of the world and the Seattle Sounders of the world that brought back their own high-profile men's national team players. It puts us on par with the biggest clubs in this country." Boniface notes the Rapids' additions this month are "nothing short of mind-boggling" for a front office that was "maligned" throughout the MLS offseason for poor results over the past 18 months (DENVER POST, 3/21). FOXSPORTS.com's Ryan Rosenblatt wrote it has been "easy to make fun of the Rapids" in recent years, and if they "weren't being made fun of, they were being ignored." Rosenblatt: "Nobody will call Colorado irrelevant anymore." The team is "making a real attempt to compete with the league's best," and it is "spending big" to do so. While the Rapids are "banking on Jones and Howard to win them matches," they also are depending on them to "fill seats." The Rapids need that to "become a force in their local market after finishing dead last in MLS attendance a year ago" (FOXSPORTS.com, 3/20).
