Playing in MLS is not glamorous, folks.

Not even if you're an All-Star, a fan favorite, or even a guy who, during a different time in your life, paid for the chance to play in the league.

That's why Mike Ammann sits home in his New Jersey townhouse today, waiting on a phone call from the league office -- a phone call the league office says it's not going to make -- wondering if his MLS career is over. Traded by the MetroStars to D.C. United a couple of weeks ago, Ammann is simply not sure he can give up the business opportunities he would leave behind in Jersey.

He reported to D.C.'s training camp last weekend, driving down to Northern Virginia with his wife and two young sons and checking into a hotel. The family even checked out the local real estate market, looking for a place where they could settle down. But Ammann says he told United if a new contract wasn't done by Tuesday, he was going back to Jersey. The deal wasn't done, so Ammann packed up his car and bolted.

"I want to play for D.C.," Ammann said. "I want to make that clear. When I reported, Thomas Rongen and Kevin Payne told me I was going to be expected to be one of the team leaders and I told them I would be happy to take that on. But the bottom line is, I've got to do what's best for my wife and kids. It's called priorities."

Ammann referenced last week's Boot Room, in which I said he was going to have to give up some $20,000 in soccer camp appearances by moving to D.C. "If it was $20,000, I'd be down in D.C. right now," Ammann said. "It is over $100,000."

In other words, it is nearly $20,000 more than what Ammann made to play in MLS last season. "And I'm not asking MLS to make up the entire difference,"Ammann says. "Not even close. The last offer I saw was within a few thousand dollars. But when the deal wasn't completed by Tuesday, I decided it was time to get out of the hotel, put my son back in school and get on with my life. They know how to get in touch with me."

MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis said simply, "We made Mike an offer with a little nod to the circumstances. But our policy is not to negotiate with a player who is not in camp. And if he's home right now, then he is not in camp."

Ammann called me Friday afternoon to say that he plans to fly to D.C. on Sunday in a good-faith effort to work things out. But he fears the league is trying to call his bluff, not really believing he would walk away from MLS. "There was a time when soccer was number one on my list," Ammann said. "In the first year of MLS, I agreed to cover my own transfer fee from Charlton Athletic [then of the English First Division]. It was only $25,000, but it wasn't money I could pay them out of pocket, so they took it out of my paycheck. I thought it was going to be over the course of several seasons, but they did it all in one year. So, every two weeks, I'd get a check for $212. My wife stayed home that season and got a job so I could chase this dream of trying to make professional soccer work in the U.S."

When he was traded to the MetroStars (along with Mark Chung for Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas) in '99, Ammann, a Southern California boy, immersed himself New Jersey soccer, even helping his teammate Billy Walsh coach the Chatham High School varsity boys to a state championship in 1999. His easygoing personality and smile have made him a huge hit on the camp scene. One program in particular, where he coaches goalkeepers for three hours once a week, has become so lucrative, he is not sure he can give it up. Not with a clear conscience, anyway. The director of that program has told him if he retires from MLS, he will make even more money working for him full-time.

"People have said to me, it would be such a shame if you retired," Ammann said. "But to be 30 years old and not be able to support your family, that's a shame, too. It's nothing against D.C., which is a great organization with great fans. It's just priorities."