kickman: If you haven't already and are interested in this, I recommend the book "The Bell Curve" -- it's nothing about athletics, but it does a good job of showing economic models associated with value-add. Basically, correctly operating markets are going to pay those that add the highest value.
There's no doubt that D.C. United, and the MLS as a whole, shouldn't have offered Adu a contract -- the ability of the team and the league to capitalize on the business opportunities associated with the kid have been non-existent.
