Messi, Miami lead way as MLS salaries rise

Published on Oct, 24 2024

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team continue to lead the way as the average MLS salary rose 9.7%, according to the latest MLS player salary data released by the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) Thursday.

Messi, who is under contract through the end of 2025, has an annual guaranteed compensation of $20.4 million, factoring in only the Argentina forward's salary. Previously, Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has said that Messi's total compensation, which includes a cut from the league's Apple TV deal, was in the $50 million to $60 million range.

Miami won the Supporters' Shield for the first time this year and set an MLS record for most points in the regular season with 74 after Messi's 11-minute hat trick inspired the team to a 6-2 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday.

The team's points total was aided in part by a record spend of $41.7 million. That is more than double the amount spent by 23 of the league's 29 teams.

The average outlay per team was $18.41 million, with the median settling in at $16.68 million. Spending big was by no means a guarantee of success, however. Of the 10 highest spending teams, four missed the MLS Cup playoffs.

The top five salary-earners were rounded out by Toronto FC's Lorenzo Insigne at $15.4 million, Miami's Sergio Busquets at $8.77 million, Austin FC's Sebastián Driussi at $6.7 million and Toronto's Federico Bernardeschi at $6.3 million.

All data is as of Sept. 13, 2024. The salary data was annualized for players who arrived during the summer transfer window.

The average guaranteed base compensation for the entire MLS player pool -- which included pool players, retired players still owed money, as well as a pair from next year's expansion side, San Diego FC -- continues to climb on an annual basis, rising to $596,226 up 9.7% from the September 2023 mark of $543,207.

The salaries of players at the bottom of the wage scale continue to improve, as the league's median guaranteed base compensation was $308,375, up 9.3% from last year's figure of $282,125.

MLS and the MLSPA are in the fourth year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was agreed upon in February of 2021. The CBA runs through the end of the 2027 season.

In terms of team payroll based on guaranteed base compensation, Toronto FC ranked second behind Miami at $31.81 million, followed by LAFC (22.08 million), LA Galaxy ($21.96 million) and Nashville SC ($21.86 million)

CF Montreal had the lowest payroll at $11.43 million, followed by the Philadelphia Union ($13.81 million), the Colorado Rapids ($13.44 million), the San Jose Earthquakes ($14.63 million) and Minnesota United at 14.77 million).