Lionel Messi’s Miami compensation is more than entire payroll of 22 MLS teams

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi earned more than the entire payroll of 22 other Major League Soccer teams, and Olivier Giroud has a total annual compensation of $3,675,000 under the contract he signed in July to join Los Angeles FC.

The Major League Soccer Players Association has released its salary update on Thursday and Messi’s base salary of $12 million and $20.4 million in total compensation from Inter Miami remained the same as at the initial listing in May.

These figures refer to the amount Messi will receive from his MLS deal, which runs through the 2025 season, including any marketing bonuses and agent fees. They do not take into account any additional agreements with the team or its subsidiaries, or any performance bonuses. Messi will get a piece of the league’s deal with Apple TV, which is expected to net around $50 million for the Argentinian.

Messi’s Miami, the league’s Supporters Shield champions in the regular season, led the league with record wages of $41.7 million, double all but Toronto ($31.8 million), Los Angeles FC ($22, 1 million), the LA Galaxy ($22 million) and Nashville ($21.9 million). M). Players from Cincinnati ($21 million) and Houston ($20.5 million) also had totals greater than Messi. Montreal ($11.4 million), Philadelphia ($13.8 million) and Colorado ($14.4 million) have among the lowest payrolls.

Messi’s teammate Sergio Busquets ranks second in the league with a salary of $8.5 million and has a total compensation of $8.8 million. Toronto winger Lorenzo Insigne has a salary of $7.5 million and total compensation of $15.4 million.

Some players still earned good salaries despite not being on the field. Former New England forward Jozy Altidore was listed as an MLS pool player at $1.7 million in salary and $2.2 million in total compensation. Former USMNT captain Michael Bradley, who last played in the MLS in 2023, was listed as retired with a salary and total compensation of $725,000.

Overall, the average MLS salary increased 9.7% in the past year. The average guaranteed MLS salary is now $308,375.