The MLS Players Association released 2026 salary information Tuesday, giving a first look at how much money new stars are earning and how much all 30 clubs are spending on wages.<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi is far and away the league\u2019s highest-paid player at $28.33 million, which doesn\u2019t include his eventual ownership stake in the team or other incentives (Miami owner Jorge Mas previously claimed he pays Messi between $70 million and $80 million per year<\/a> when taking all into account). Even so, Messi\u2019s guaranteed compensation is more than all other MLS clubs\u2019 entire wage bill except for LAFC.<\/p>\n In a salary-capped league, the MLSPA information is valuable but just a piece of the puzzle when it comes to how much clubs spend on the first team. The most room for increased discretionary wage spend is on designated players, as clubs can pay up to three players whatever they want and only count towards the salary cap at a fixed fee ($803,125 for a senior DP this year).<\/p>\n Essentially, teams can create more salary cap room via General Allocation Money, but the easiest way to increase overall salary spend is by paying a DP a big salary.<\/p>\n Critically, these totals don\u2019t include outlay on transfer fees. For instance, the Philadelphia Union splashed a club-record fee worth around $4.5 million to sign forward Ezekiel Alladoh, but in this exercise he only accounts for his $540,000 salary. Philadelphia, the reigning Supporters\u2019 Shield holder languishing at the bottom of the table this season, is the lowest-spending team in MLS by salary alone and has just one player making more than $1 million per year.<\/p>\n These figures also don\u2019t cover how much money each club spends on infrastructure, front office and support staff, among other things.<\/p>\n So even if it doesn\u2019t paint the complete picture, it is an important slice of information and an appreciated resource for financial transparency.<\/p>\n Here are the biggest takeaways from MLSPA\u2019s salary release:<\/a><\/p>\n Top 10 highest-paid players in MLS<\/p>\n Lionel Messi, Inter Miami<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $28.3M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Son Heung-min, LAFC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $11.2M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Rodrigo De Paul, Inter Miami<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $9.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Chucky Lozano, San Diego FC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $9.3M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Miguel Almir\u00f3n, Atlanta United<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $7.9M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Emil Forsberg, Red Bull New York<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Sam Surridge, Nashville SC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $5.9M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $5.8M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jonathan Bamba, Chicago Fire<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $5.6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Hany Mukhtar, Nashville SC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $5.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n With Messi the highest-paid MLS player of all time, his figure towers over the rest of the top 10.<\/p>\n Son Heung-min, whose transfer fee from when he arrived last summer is a league record, is second-highest. His figure is similar to what was released last season.<\/p>\n The third-highest-paid player, Rodrigo De Paul, is on a vastly different number than 2025. Initially arriving on loan from Atl\u00e9tico Madrid as a non-DP (salary less than around $2M), De Paul joined Miami on a permanent transfer and is now at $9.7M. Thomas M\u00fcller, who also arrived mid-season on a non-DP deal, saw a significant bump to his Whitecaps deal after his option was picked up.<\/p>\n Two of the top 10 will not play for their clubs this season, albeit amid different circumstances. Riqui Puig is out injured for a second consecutive campaign, while Chucky Lozano has been frozen out by San Diego FC and is training alone.<\/p>\n MLS teams ranked by expenditure<\/p>\n Inter Miami <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $54.6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n LAFC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $32.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Atlanta United <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $27.9M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n LA Galaxy <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $26.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Vancouver Whitecaps<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $24.6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n San Diego FC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $24.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n FC Cincinnati <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $23.5M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Nashville SC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $23M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Columbus Crew <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $22.3M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Chicago Fire <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $21.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Red Bull New York<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $21.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n NYCFC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $21.5M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Charlotte FC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $21.5M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Toronto FC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $21.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Houston Dynamo <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $20.9M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Austin FC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19.9M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n New England Revolution<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Seattle Sounders<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19.1M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n St. Louis City<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $18.8M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Portland Timbers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $18.5M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n San Jose Earthquakes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $15.8M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n MInnesota United<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $15.6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Real Salt Lake<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $15.3M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n D.C. United<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $14.6M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n FC Dallas<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $14.5M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Colorado Rapids<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $14.1M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Orlando City <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $13.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n CF Montr\u00e9al <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $13.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Sporting KC <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $12.4M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Philadelphia Union <\/p>\n<\/td>\n $11.7M<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Miami, with two of the three most expensive players in the league, is an obvious leader in this category, as it has been every year since Messi arrived.<\/p>\n The Whitecaps, often much lower in these lists, including last year when they were 21st in the first salary release, surge into the top five. The future of the club is in flux with a bid from Grant Gustavson to buy the club and relocate the team to Las Vegas<\/a>\u00a0on the table.<\/p>\n As is the nature of this league, the bottom 20 teams are separated by $10 million \u2014 the same margin that exists between teams 5-25.<\/p>\n At the bottom of the league resides the Union, who moved on from a number of key players this winter including Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, Tai Baribo and Mikael Uhre. That represented four of their top five highest-paid players. Perhaps it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise the club is struggling mightily in 2026.<\/p>\n Sporting KC, second from the bottom, is currently on pace to be one of the worst teams in league history. Despite having two DPs (Dejan Jovelji\u0107 and Manu Garc\u00eda), it\u2019s the second-lowest-spending team in the league by salary.<\/p>\nPLAYERGUARANTEED COMPENSATION<\/tr>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n CLUBGUARANTEED COMPENSATION<\/tr>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n