Pro-Soccer stars: Breaking Down the Massive Salaries
Pro-Soccer is the most followed global sport. The game is played throughout the year, with club football playing a big part in the growth of the sport. European leagues are the most famous ones as they have enough reach and good quality players. However, other continents also have some good clubs and players. Their leagues are also on a rise, especially, the Major League Soccer.
MLS has also seen a tremendous growth over the years. The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets joined Inter Miami last season. A lot of other players followed their path. However, unlike other leagues, MLS doesn’t allow the teams to bring a lot of top superstars to the team. They have a salary cap that maintains a balance. Here is a look at the salaries of MLS players and how these are different from top leagues.
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MLS roster & salary cap
In June 2024, MLS released the rules and regulations for the current season. The MLS clubs comprise of up to 30 players. These are divided into two sets, with one being Senior Roster and the other being Supplemental Roster.
The senior roster can have up to 20 players and the budget for each club is $5,470,000. A maximum salary budget charge for a single player is $683,750.
The Supplemental Roster players consist of homegrown players and other reserve players. However, the salaries of these players do not count towards a club’s salary budget.
Lionel Messi is the highest paid player in the league. He has a salary base of $12m and a compensation of around $20,446,667. When compared with other teams, his salary is more than the entire payrolls of 25 out of the 29 teams in the MLS. This is also $19.8 million than the league average.
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There is also a Designated player slot on the roster. These are high-level players that earn more money than average MLS player. There is no limit to how much a team can pay to any of its designated players. This is one of the reasons why the likes of Lionel Messi has a high salary.
Pro-Soccer: The major difference between European Leagues and MLS
Unlike MLS, the top European leagues do not have a luxury tax system or salary cap constraints. The yearly wage bills in leagues like the Premier League is over $200 million. However, the wage bill in MLS is around $10-20 million.
When compared to the average salary of players, the European leagues offer much more than the MLS. In the Major League Soccer, the average salary sits around $400,000. In a league like the Premier League, the average salary is around $3 million.
This factor has played a huge role in the growth of the European league. MLS has struggled to attract stars due to the salary cap. Top European players are not tempted to join any Major League side.
There is a huge difference in the salaries of top leagues and the MLS. Only the Designated players earn a high salary in the United States. In top European leagues, big players are paid heavily.
