Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri is MLS’s highest-paid player (2024)

In July, Insigne will move from Napoli to Toronto FC and collect at least $12.5 million, according to multiple reports. Because he has yet to arrive, the winger’s salary will not appear on the MLSPA list until it’s updated late in the season.

Los Angeles FC forward Carlos Vela, the top earner in MLS last year at $6.03 million, is No. 7 this season at $4.05 million.

Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández remains No. 2 with guaranteed compensation of $6 million. Forward Gonzalo Higuaín, a part-time starter for Inter Miami, is No. 3 at $5.79 million.

The only American in the top 15 is the New England Revolution’s Jozy Altidore, the former national team striker, who is No. 5 at $4.26 million. Eight current U.S. national team regulars who are employed by MLS teams earn between $1 million and $1.6 million, including FC Dallas’s Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola and Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman.

Overall, 85 of the 800-plus players in the 28-team league earn at least $1 million — an increase of 31 since 2019, when MLS had 24 clubs. Cincinnati, New England and Toronto have five apiece.

The MLSPA said base salaries for senior roster players (not including designated players) grew 10.3 percent since last year to $438,728. Each team is allowed up to three designated players, whose high earnings skew the average.

The senior minimum salary is $84,000, a figure set by the collective bargaining agreement. Non-senior roster players, who account for about 12 percent of the workforce, are in the lowest pay tier, starting at $65,500.

D.C. United’s top earners are midfielder Edison Flores ($1.73 million), forward Taxi Fountas ($1.65 million) and striker Ola Kamara ($1.52 million). Flores and Fountas are classified as designated players, but Kamara is not because a large portion of his salary is offset by targeted allocation money. United officials have said they hope to sign a third designated player this summer.

There is some question about Fountas’s figure. He is in the first year of a three-year deal that, according to people familiar with the details, is worth about $7 million. If the $1.65 million number for this season is accurate, his salary would leap to an average of about $2.7 million over the next two years.

It’s not uncommon for MLS team officials and player agents to privately dispute salary figures that are posted publicly. Like their counterparts, United officials declined to comment on Fountas’s contract.

United’s investment is paying off: The Greek attacker has five goals and two assists in five appearances (four starts).

Flores, who has been a disappointment since arriving in 2020, does not have any guaranteed years left on his contract after this season. Barring a resurgence, United is unlikely to exercise the option.

Kamara — who has scored five times this year and has 31 goals in 64 matches since arriving in late 2019 — is in the last year of his contract, with no club options left. United was open to trade offers this spring and, should it acquire another striker soon, could end up moving him in the summer transfer window.

Next on United’s payroll are wing back Julian Gressel ($970,000), center back Steven Birnbaum ($763,000), goalkeeper Bill Hamid ($700,000) and forward Nigel Robertha ($622,000).