Top 10 MLS Salaries

Note: In the salary numbers above, overall salaries include signing, marketing and guaranteed bonuses. They don't include performance bonuses, which are added at the end of the season.

 

these numbers are not bad at all - they are not eggregious like other american professional sports. these are all rich men - are they rich enough to never have to work again after their career is over? no. But are they wealthy enough to live a very good life - yes. These numbers need to be even more publicized to show young kids that you can become rich playing football in the usa. also, good for the mls getting all these talented people playing here for such little money. We all know that every one of those top 10 could be making at least double in other leagues around the world - congrats mls and keep up the good work

 

I think the average salary would have to be 240k before you get the kind of response you are hoping for. Just my opinion.

 

At least we finally have incontrovertible proof to back up the long-held claim that the Metrostars are league darlings who don't have to follow the salary cap...Oh, wait.

 

so the top 10 players salaries + signing, marketing and guaranteed bonuses together make 1/4th the salary that Steven Gerrard makes by himself in just salary alone.

and in other news, Justin Detter had to "retire" at the age of 22 because he couldnt survive off of $200 a week.

in Kansas City.

 

I just can't see EJ earning that kind of money, the guy really hasn't done enough to earn it. Scoring a few times against a few minnows of soccer just doesn't cut it.

 

The VAST majority of MLS players outside of this list are making peanuts...and it's crap. Especially players like Noonan, Twellman, Dempsey, and Guevara. If the max salary for MLS players is around 7-10 million a year and the MINIMUM is around 500-600k a year, that will be satisfactory.

 

He earned it the minute MLS was offered a $5M transfer.

 

Ramon Ramirez's salary is ridiculous. He makes much more than Djorkaef and is half the player.

 

For comparison with the salary of a top player in another G8 nation.
With today's exchange rate, and the supposed target of GPB 120,000/wk salary for Steven Gerrard, this is almost exactly a month's work.
http://www.iht.com/converter/calc.html

 

Not to mention Mathis & Sanneh.

Of course, one reason Ramirez & Mathis' salaries are relatively high is that MLS (incorrectly) thought they'd be big draws for their teams.

But it's harder to see why Sanneh is earning that much. Sanneh's certainly not a "name" player who might bring out crowds on his own, and at 33, signed with MLS near the tail end of his career.

 

Mathis deserved the salary based on his reputation, he's just sucking this year. Sanneh probably did too, although as a defender they probably could've gotten a more attractive player for that price.

 

Not to mention he sucked much of his previous few seasons with the Metros.

Considering Clint left MLS on poor terms and quickly wore out his welcome in Germany, MLS should have offered to re-sign him at a cut in pay and let him earn most of his compensation via performance bonuses.

And if that was unacceptable to Clint, MLS could have told him "Auf Wiedersehen. Enjoy Hannover."

 

RSL was looking for marketable American players, and he was one of the very few available. They seem to be doing OK at the gate, so it wasn't a complete waste.

 

I'd like to see those numbers one day, but I think I'll be satisfied sooner - as soon as there is a league minimum players can live decently off of (75-100k). We shouldn't have guys like Detter quitting to find other jobs b/c they are paid so poorly. With a minimum of say 100k and an average salary around 300k, I think I would be very happy.

 

Clint Mathis Salt Lake City 270,000 410,000
Eddie Pope Salt Lake City 314,782 378,948
Tony Sanneh Chicago 285,000 365,000
Chris Armas Chicago 250,000 325,000
Jovan Kirovski Los Angeles 175,000 290,000


If MLS could somehow make this bottom five on the list instead: Dempsey, Gaven, Noonan, Ching, Ronnie O'Brien.... I think it'd be far more fair.... for the players and MLS, which will have a much better chances to sell these off in the future, instead of these players noted above...
Or, theoretically, this is money that will be more wisely spent in the future on bringing back players like Reyna, JOB, Lewis.....none of which seem to have Mathis' or Sanneh's attitude, or Kiro's suckiness......

IMO, the bottom five are overpaid, by MLS standards...

About time, too!!!

 

The minimum salary doesn't have to be exorbitant or "classy"-sounding, just liveable. Tom Soares was only making about four hundred pounds a week before he got his new deal at Crystal Palace. He's young.

Thankfully, MLS hasn't gone the route of always signing over-the-hill superstars. But it has made some poor valuations of the stars that it has signed. The league should try to find the vein of players who are going to put out an effort for MLS. Like Nowak and Kubik in Chicago. Or tap CONCACAF more, if possible. Ruiz is a bigger star than Mathis and Sanneh put together. In the meantime, give the youngsters something to buy food with.

 

Anyone know if it's unusual for a league to have 3 defensive players (Pope, Sanneh, Armas) in its Top 10 salaries?

Guys like Chris Armas are well-respected, but it's not like they add much drawing power to a team.

It seems to me that MLS may be paying too high a premium to have USMNT players in the league just for the sake of having USMNT players.

I can see paying relatively high dollars to forwards, attacking midfielders or wide midfielders who bring some excitement to a game and can help draw fans.

But making a defensive midfielder one of the highest paid players in MLS doesn't make much sense to me when you have exciting players like an O'Brien or Twellman relatively underpaid.

 

I agree.... And i forgot to add Ruiz, Twellman into the equation before

 

Thats the only way they could get him here.

I think that Wolff's is much more ridiculous though.

 

Checketts wanted him.

Thats all it took.

 

Minimum salary $50k .

Bonus of $1000 per game played.

Bonus of $1500 per win played in.

If you team wins 15 of 30 games and you play in all 30 you make $100k+.

Thats for Chris Leitch type players.

Do we want to pay Chris Leitch that much? No but if we had that kind of money on the table the competition for those types of spots becomes very fierce and palyers like Leitch will improve in a hurry or get moved out.

 

Bingo, plus Ellinger really wanted him.

 

The problem MLS has is it signs players based on their perception of marketability and not on pure performance potential.

As a result we end up with teams with small of stars backed up by a large contingent of average type players. This league simply doesn't value non stars (you would think after ten years they would learn that such a path is not effective).