I think some explanation about our goofy domestic football league is in order.
Tim Howard is not free to sign with whatever MLS club he wants. Unlike the rest of the world, in our quasi-socialist league he is put on an
Allocation Ranking List, which includes our top national team players who aren't already in MLS, plus players who have transferred out of the league for a fee of more than US$500,000.
All the clubs in MLS are in an Allocation Ranking. Every year it's set so the worst club from the previous year is at the top of the list, the next-worst club is second, and so on down to the MLS Cup winners. If a player on the Allocation Ranking List wants to come to MLS, whoever has the #1 position on the Allocation Ranking gets to sign him. Once you sign a player off the list, you move to the bottom of the list and everyone moves up one. You are allowed to trade up or down in the ranking. Colorado traded up from #2 to #1, so if Howard wants to play in MLS and Colorado meets his demands, that's where he ends up.
Colorado has never been a top side. If we had promotion and relegation here, they would have made the drop each of the last two seasons. They also have the lowest attendance in the league. It is not an attractive destination. I wouldn't blame Howard at all if he doesn't want to go there.
So what options does Howard have if he wants to play for another team? Ask for an outrageous wage and either force Colorado to pay it, or to drop out by trading their #1 position in the Allocation Ranking to a team that will meet his demands. I think his wage demand will slowly come down until some team is willing to pay it, and it probably won't be Colorado.
Or he could just wait for MLS to make up something on the spot like they did with Clint Dempsey. He was all set to go to the top team on the Allocation Ranking at the time (Portland) until MLS decided no, Dempsey is a
Designated Player who can sign for anyone, and he signed for their arch-rivals Seattle instead.