The MLS Players Association released 2024 salary information on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in MLS with a guaranteed compensation of $20.4 million — more than the guaranteed compensation totals of 25 MLS rosters.
- The average MLS salary is $594,390 in 2024, up 12.1% from $530,262 in 2023.
- Inter Miami has the highest salary spend in MLS, with a total guaranteed compensation of $30,913,242. CF Montréal is the lowest at $10,812,226.
Top 10 earners in MLS
The league’s two top earners remain unchanged from 2023. Messi leads all players with his $20.4 million guaranteed compensation, while Toronto FC winger Lorenzo Insigne is second on $15.4 million. After being listed on a target allocation money (TAM) salary in 2023, Miami defender Sergio Busquets has lept to third on an annual salary of $8.8 million, overtaking attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, who Chicago Fire is paying $8.2 million for a third consecutive season. No other player beyond this quartet has taken home over $8 million in any given season throughout MLS history.
Another five MLS players will earn over $5 million in guaranteed compensation this year: Sebastián Driussi (Austin, $6.7M), Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto, $6.3M), Emil Forsberg (New York Red Bulls, $6M), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo, $5.2M) and Hany Mukhtar (Nashville, $5.2). Mukhtar is among the few players to earn a hefty wage above their 2023 earnings when he took home $3.2 million. Overall, Nashville’s wage bill skyrocketed to MLS’s fourth-highest figure between raises to him and others throughout the roster; last season, Nashville ranked 12th at $17 million in guaranteed compensation.
How can Miami pay Messi so much with a salary cap?
At $20.4 million, Lionel Messi is not just the highest-paid player in MLS but paid more than the entire rosters of 25 individual teams. How could that be in a salary-capped league?
The MLS salary cap is an arcane world. For the uninitiated, it’s a mix of a hard cap and budget terms that don’t relate to a player’s actual take-home pay. Messi is a designated player and, as far as the salary cap is concerned, his budget charge is only $683,750, the senior maximum. That’s how much a senior designated player counts against the cap, same for CF Montréal midfielder Victor Wanyama, despite his salary being $1.8 million.
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The designated player rule was introduced in 2007 as a way to bring David Beckham to the league. The rule states a club can pay a DP whatever they want out of pocket and they hit the cap at the fixed, senior maximum number. The difference is how much ownership of any given club is comfortable spending.
Beyond the $20.4 million, Messi’s contract has significant value escalators and is among the most unique deals in MLS history. Messi can purchase a minority ownership percentage in Inter Miami when he retires.
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Additionally, he will receive additional income through MLS partners. He’ll get some portion of revenue from the new MLS Season Pass subscriptions on Apple TV, He also has agreements for compensation from Adidas, who is his long-time sponsor and kit manufacturers for MLS, and Fanatics.
Top and bottom MLS teams in salary spend
Nashville’s rise coincides with both Los Angeles clubs falling down the league-wide rankings, due in part to the departures of Javier Hernandez (LA Galaxy) and Carlos Vela (Los Angeles FC). Miami leads all MLS teams by spending $41.7 million on player salaries, while Messi alone takes home more than 25 other teams spend on salaries across their entire roster. Toronto FC’s total of $31.4 million is largely carried by Insigne and Bernardeschi’s combined $21.7 million income, and Shaqiri’s former record-setting salary helps propel Chicago into third at $25.1 million.
Top spend on guaranteed compensation
- Miami – $41.7M
- Toronto – $31.4M
- Chicago – $25.1M
- Nashville – $21.4M
- Cincinnati – $18.7M
St. Louis City has followed up its Western Conference table-winning 2023 by leading a different ranking. Their combined salaries barely exceed $12 million, narrowly beating CF Montréal for the most frugal squad in terms of guaranteed compensation. Real Salt Lake, the San Jose Earthquakes and Charlotte FC round out the five lowest wage bills in MLS.
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Bottom spend on guaranteed compensation
- St. Louis – $12M
- Montréal – $12M
- Real Salt Lake – $13.6M
- San Jose – $13.6M
- Charlotte – $14.5M
At the time of release, three of the bottom five teams in salary spend are above the playoff line. Three of the top five teams in salary spend are above the playoff line.
What are the newest additions to MLS earning?
This winter saw plenty of key signings come to MLS. For the first time since they joined, their salary data is public.
Highest-paid newcomers
- Emil Forsberg – $6.04M
- Luis Muriel – $4.34M
- Hugo Cuypers – $3.53M
- Joseph Paintsil – $3.36M
- Jonathan Rodríguez – $2.63M
- Gabriel Pec – $2.46M
- Liel Abada – $2.45M
- Petar Musa – $2.23M
- Djordje Mihailovic – $1.68M
- Hannes Wolf – $1.51M
The New York Red Bulls broke the bank to bring star Emil Forsberg over from RB Leipzig with his $6.04 million salary and a multi-million transfer fee. Dante Vanzeir was last year’s highest-paid player at $1.49 million for 2023.
The LA Galaxy’s two new DPs — Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec — came with serious investment in transfer fees as well as salaries. Both have been quick successes in the league. Their combined salaries are still less than what the Galaxy paid Chicharito in 2023 when the Mexican striker took home $7.4 million before leaving as a free agent.
Who are the highest-paid free agent signings?
FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson and Chicago Fire midfielder Kellyn Acosta are unsurprisingly the top two earners from the free agent group. They were also viewed as the two top free agents on the board this winter.
Highest-paid free agent signings
- Miles Robinson: $1.58M
- Kellyn Acosta: $1.56M
- Josef Martínez: $1.31M
- Julian Gressel: $1.09M
- Nicolás Lodeiro: $800K
Robinson joined Cincinnati after spending the first part of his career with Atlanta United, where he went from end-of-the-bench SuperDraft pick to a candidate for MLS defender of the year. Acosta had played for several MLS teams, but headed to free agency for the first time this offseason and control his destiny. He opted to sign with the Fire.
Josef Martinez went north of the border to CF Montréal while Julian Gressel has been the most productive marquee free agent signing so far, a key cog in Inter Miami’s starting XI. Nico Lodeiro rounds out the top five, with the Seattle Sounders legend heading to Orlando City this offseason.
Additional trends and notes
- The average MLS salary is $594,390 in 2024, up 12.1% from $530,262 in 2023.
- In total, the release outlines $518,902,285 in guaranteed compensation across 873 players.
- 2025 expansion club San Diego FC has one player’s salary listed: goalkeeper Duran Ferree, a U.S. U-17 international earning $71,401. The San Diego native is on loan with USL side Orange County SC.
- The release includes information on seven players who are categorized as being in the “MLS Pool” and are still on MLS contracts. Most notable among the seven are striker Jozy Altidore ($2.24 million) and recently retired midfielder Michael Bradley ($725,000).
(Top photo: Getty Images; Design by Eamonn Dalton)