Open Extended Reactions
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi is MLS' highest paid player, with a league-record annual guaranteed compensation of $20 million, the MLS Players Association announced on Wednesday.
That mark includes just Messi's salary. Earlier this year, Miami co-owner Jorge Mas revealed to Spanish outlet El País that Messi's total compensation, which includes a cut from the league's Apple TV deal was in the $50m-$60m range.
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Messi's midseason arrival, along with that of teammates Sergio Busquets ($1.775m) and Jordi Alba ($1.25m), vaulted the Herons to the top of the MLS team salary rankings, with total guaranteed compensation of $39.419m. That is more than double the $18.88m the team was spending this time last year.
Messi's guaranteed salary is the highest in the history of MLS, beating out Toronto FC's Lorenzo Insigne, who is second on Wednesday' list at $15.4m. The Chicago Fire's Xherdan Shaqiri ($8.15m), the LA Galaxy's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez ($7.44m) and Toronto's Federico Bernardeschi ($6.3m) round out the top five
All data is as of Sept. 15, 2023. The salary data was annualized for players like Messi who joined the league during the summer transfer window.
Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to Leagues Cup glory but was unable to guide the team into the MLS playoffs. Megan Briggs/Getty Images
The arrival of Messi helped push the average guaranteed base compensation for the entire MLS player pool to $543,207 up 5.5% from the September 2022 mark of $514,729. The salaries of players at the bottom of the wage scale continue to improve, as the league's median guaranteed base compensation was $282,125, up 13.4% from the September 2022 mark of $248,688.
MLS and the MLSPA are in the third year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was agreed upon in February 2021. The current 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 $32.293m followed by the LA Galaxy ($25.039m), reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC ($20.841) and the Chicago Fire ($20.416m)
Orlando City had the lowest payroll at $9.643m -- due in part to the September transfer of forward Ercan Kara to Turkis side Samsunspor -- followed by CF Montreal ($10.92m), expansion side St. Louis City ($11.187m), the New York Red Bulls ($11.331m) and the Philadelphia Union at $13.291m).
FC Cincinnati, the recently crowned Supporters Shield winners, checked in at 21st with a total guaranteed compensation of $14.349m.
Based on current MLS standings heading into Decision Day, the three highest-spending teams -- Miami, Toronto and the Galaxy -- will all miss the playoffs. Austin FC, which ranked sixth at $19.166m, is the other team among the top 10 spenders to miss out on the postseason.
Source: espn.co.uk