The MLS Players Association has released their Fall 2023 salary guide, giving a new look at spending from around Major League Soccer.
Unsurprisingly, Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi tops the list of highest paid players. His guaranteed compensation of over $20 million per year doesn’t include the full range of his income, which also includes significant streams of revenue from adidas and Apple, MLS’s television partner.
Nashville SC have two players in the league’s 20 highest paid players; Hany Mukhtar comes in at 16 overall, with summer signing Sam Surridge just behind at 18.
| NAME | CLUB | POSITION | BASE SALARY | GUARANTEED COMPENSATION | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel | Messi | Inter Miami | M | $12,000,000.00 | $20,446,667.00 |
| Lorenzo | Insigne | Toronto FC | M | $7,500,000.00 | $15,400,000.00 |
| Xherdan | Shaqiri | Chicago Fire | M-F | $7,350,000.00 | $8,153,000.00 |
| Javier | Hernández Balcázar | LA Galaxy | F | $6,000,000.00 | $7,443,750.00 |
| Federico | Bernardeschi | Toronto FC | M | $3,125,000.00 | $6,295,381.00 |
| Sebastián | Driussi | Austin FC | M-F | $3,800,000.00 | $6,022,500.00 |
| Héctor | Herrera | Houston Dynamo | M | $4,750,000.00 | $5,246,875.00 |
| Douglas | Costa | LA Galaxy | M | $3,000,000.00 | $4,508,333.00 |
| Christian | Benteke | DC United | F | $4,250,000.00 | $4,432,778.00 |
| Josef | MartÃnez | Inter Miami | F | $4,000,000.00 | $4,391,667.00 |
| Carlos | Vela | LAFC | M | $3,000,000.00 | $4,383,900.00 |
| Teemu | Pukki | Minnesota United | F | $3,200,000.00 | $3,550,000.00 |
| Carles | Gil | New England Revolution | M-F | $3,250,000.00 | $3,545,833.00 |
| Nicolás | Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders FC | M-F | $2,640,000.00 | $3,256,667.00 |
| Raúl | RuidÃaz | Seattle Sounders FC | F | $2,472,000.00 | $3,201,120.00 |
| Hany | Mukhtar | Nashville SC | M-F | $2,900,000.00 | $3,188,750.00 |
| Jozy | Altidore | Major League Soccer | F | $2,381,139.00 | $2,939,963.00 |
| Sam | Surridge | Nashville SC | F | $2,500,000.00 | $2,907,639.00 |
| Cucho | Hernández | Columbus Crew | F | $2,600,000.00 | $2,886,000.00 |
| Diego | Rossi | Columbus Crew | M | $2,625,000.00 | $2,677,000.00 |
For Nashville SC, Hany Mukhtar still leads the team, closely followed by Sam Surridge, who makes just shy of $3 million after moving from Nottingham Forest in what could become Nashville’s club-record transfer.
| NAME | POSITION | BASE SALARY | GUARANTEED COMPENSATION | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hany | Mukhtar | M-F | $2,900,000.00 | $3,188,750.00 |
| Sam | Surridge | F | $2,500,000.00 | $2,907,639.00 |
| Walker | Zimmerman | D | $1,800,000.00 | $2,056,979.00 |
| Randall | Leal | M | $1,000,000.00 | $1,115,000.00 |
| Sean | Davis | M | $825,000.00 | $939,000.00 |
| AnÃbal | Godoy | D-M | $750,000.00 | $821,250.00 |
| Shaq | Moore | D | $725,000.00 | $806,500.00 |
| Fafà | Picault | M | $650,000.00 | $650,000.00 |
| Daniel | Lovitz | D | $551,250.00 | $568,750.00 |
| Alex | Muyl | M | $500,000.00 | $500,000.00 |
| Teal | Bunbury | F | $425,000.00 | $469,167.00 |
| Joe | Willis | GK | $375,000.00 | $391,250.00 |
| Jack | Maher | D | $260,004.00 | $355,471.00 |
| Dax | McCarty | M | $275,000.00 | $302,500.00 |
| Tah | Anunga | M | $250,000.00 | $270,000.00 |
| Nick | DePuy | D | $252,000.00 | $252,000.00 |
| Ethan | Zubak | F | $195,000.00 | $209,000.00 |
| Jacob | Shaffelburg | M | $150,000.00 | $195,000.00 |
| Taylor | Washington | D | $98,688.00 | $112,269.00 |
| Elliot | Panicco | GK | $89,716.00 | $89,716.00 |
| Josh | Bauer | D | $89,716.00 | $89,716.00 |
| Luke | Haakenson | M | $88,200.00 | $88,200.00 |
| Laurence | Wyke | D | $85,444.00 | $87,777.00 |
| Ben | Martino | GK | $67,360.00 | $87,610.00 |
| Lukas | MacNaughton | D | $85,444.00 | $87,544.00 |
| Nebiyou | Perry | M | $67,360.00 | $74,860.00 |
| Joey | Skinner | D | $67,360.00 | $72,360.00 |
| Ahmed | Longmire | D | $67,360.00 | $67,360.00 |
| Tyler | Freeman | F | $67,360.00 | $67,360.00 |
| Kemy | Amiche | M | $67,360.00 | $67,360.00 |
From a wage perspective, Nashville moved up from 18th from 12th in the league with the addition of Sam Surridge.
| RANK | CLUB | WAGE BILL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Miami | $39,419,071 |
| 2 | Toronto FC | $31,672,886 |
| 3 | LA Galaxy | $25,038,692 |
| 4 | LAFC | $20,841,863 |
| 5 | Chicago Fire | $20,415,828 |
| 6 | Atlanta United | $19,847,184 |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders FC | $19,185,352 |
| 8 | Austin FC | $19,038,551 |
| 9 | Houston Dynamo | $17,459,127 |
| 10 | DC United | $17,302,163 |
| 11 | New England Revolution | $17,013,587 |
| 12 | Nashville SC | $16,990,388 |
| 13 | Portland Timbers | $16,215,874 |
| 14 | Columbus Crew | $15,313,747 |
| 15 | Sporting Kansas City | $14,979,335 |
| 16 | New York City FC | $14,965,285 |
| 17 | FC Dallas | $14,711,587 |
| 18 | San Jose Earthquakes | $14,600,008 |
| 19 | Minnesota United | $14,569,690 |
| 20 | Colorado Rapids | $14,496,437 |
| 21 | FC Cincinnati | $14,348,728 |
| 22 | Real Salt Lake | $14,285,938 |
| 23 | Charlotte FC | $13,889,425 |
| 24 | Vancouver Whitecaps | $13,626,865 |
| 25 | Philadelphia Union | $13,419,282 |
| 26 | New York Red Bulls | $11,331,027 |
| 1 | St. Louis City SC | $11,186,787 |
| 2 | CF Montréal | $10,920,537 |
| 3 | Orlando City SC | $9,642,918 |
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