The MLS Players Association has released annual salary information for players under contract as of April 25th.
• MLSPA: 2024 Salary Guide
To no one's surprise, Lionel Messi is the highest earner, and it's not even close.
The Argentine player's base salary is $12 million and his guaranteed compensation is $20,446,667.
That's more than the total payroll of all but three teams: Toronto FC ($31.4 million guaranteed), Chicago ($25.1 million) and Nashville SC ($21.4 million).
Here are the key takeaways from the MLSPA salary announcement:
• Inter Miami has spent $41.7 million in guaranteed compensation, the most of any MLS team. They spent $21.3 million on players other than Messi, more than all but three teams.
Sergio Busquets, also acquired mid-season in 2023, will earn $8,770,496 in guaranteed compensation in 2024, joining Miami's other former Barça stars Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba. Four other players earned more than $1 million, including $1.5 million.
Miami's spending does not reflect total spending. Players are allocated five slots in the U22 initiative and their fees average around $440,000, but their transaction costs, or transfer fees, are not counted in Inter Miami's budget.
• Spending a lot of money does not necessarily lead to success in MLS. The other three teams with annual salaries over $20 million don't have winning records.
Worst-case scenario: The Fire finished 14th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference despite spending the third-most.
Chicago was one of five teams to increase spending by 20% or more. Three of the five have a losing record.
• Orlando City and New York Red Bulls both increased spending by more than 50%.
A single signature can cause your spending to skyrocket. Orlando forfeited $4,336,150 in guaranteed compensation to Luis Muriel. Red Bull is paying Emil Forsberg $6,035,625.
Again, the risk of spending a lot on one player is that he or she doesn't deliver.
Muriel scored his first two goals for the struggling Lions in MLS Game 10.
On the other hand, Forsberg's arrival coincided with a significant improvement in Red Bull's performance. The Swede has four goals and three assists in 11 games, ranking above the 95th percentile among MLS players in multiple offensive categories.
