The latest edition of player salary data from the MLS Players Association was released on Wednesday, giving insight into wage spending for every team in the league.
The new update includes the first data on midseason arrivals like Son Heung-Min, Rodrigo De Paul and Thomas Muller. Lionel Messi remains the league’s highest-paid player with guaranteed annual compensation of $20.45 million but Son jumps into second place.
The South Korean star has an annual salary of $11.15 million, overtaking Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Sergio Busquets ($8.78m). Here’s a look at the top ten highest earners in MLS by guaranteed annual compensation...
Of the midseason arrivals, only Son makes the top ten. However that may well change next year when stars like Rodrigo De Paul and Thomas Muller are moved onto new contracts. At the moment Inter Miami already have the maximum three Designated Players: Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. De Paul is technically on loan at Miami until the end of 2025, at which point Alba and Busquets will retire. For now, De Paul’s $1.5 million base salary allows him to sign with Miami without being listed as a registered player.
Vancouver Whitecaps’ deal for Thomas Muller has a similar structure, with the German forward expected to shift onto a DP salary for the 2026 season. Currently, Muller’s annual salary is listed at $1.44 million.
The new figures once again make clear the extend of Miami’s huge financial investment in this team. With a total wage bill of $48.97 million, Miami’s expenditure dwarfs second-place LAFC on $30.1 million. In fact, Messi’s salary alone is greater than the total wage bill of 20 of the league’s 30 teams.