May 4, 2007 8:03 PM
MLS player salaries released
By Ronald Blum ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The goal of Major League Soccer players is to earn it like Beckham. David Beckham will receive more than double what any other player in MLS is getting this year and more than 50 times the average salary, according to data released Friday by the league’s players’ union.
Beckham, the former English captain who joins the Los Angeles Galaxy this summer, has $6.5 million of guaranteed income that includes a $5.5 million base salary this year, the union said. That’s 10 times more than what any player is getting outside the top six.
Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is joining the Chicago Fire this summer, is second, with $2,666,778 of guaranteed income, including a base salary of $2,492,316. Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel, who signed with the New York Red Bulls, is third with $1,593,750 of guaranteed income, including a $1.5 million salary, Former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna is the top-paid American in the league. The midfielder is guaranteed $1,250,008 with the Red Bulls, including $1,000,008 of base salary.
Galaxy forward Landon Donovan is fifth at $900,000, all of it base salary, followed by Kansas city forward Eddie Johnson at $875,000 ($750,000 base salary) and Real Salt Lake midfielder Freddy Adu at $550,000 ($300,000 base salary).
Player representatives voted to make the salary information public.
“This decision was made to facilitate the accurate reporting of this information and to help educate the public regarding player compensation,” union executive director Bob Foote said.
Thirty-two players earn the league minimum of $30,000, and developmental players get even less: 35 make $17,700 and 56 get $12,900. Only the top six players in the league have salaries above the Major League Baseball minimum of $380,000.
The average guaranteed salary for the 356 players listed is $115,478 and the median — the point at which an equal amount make above and below — is $52,965. Seventy-four percent of the players have base salaries of $100,000 or less.
Beckham, Blanco, Angel and Reyna signed with MLS under the league’s new designated player rule. The league, which paid players from a central fund in its first 11 seasons, is responsible for up to $400,000 of a player’s salary, with the remainder paid by his team.
Figures include income only from a player’s MLS contract, not from any deals he may have with his team or its affiliates.
That’s a key point with Beckham, who is leaving Real Madrid to join the Galaxy. AEG, the company that runs the Galaxy, trumpeted a much larger income figure when the agreement with the midfielder was announced in February.
“The deal to bring Beckham to America is thought to be the biggest in sporting history, with industry experts estimating the worth to the player in excess of $250 million,” AEG’s news release said.
The following is the list of MLS players’ salaries, as released Friday by the union. Information is as of May 2, and figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. The guarantee is the base salary plus a prorated share of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income under the player’s contract, and it includes marketing bonuses payable in the current year and a prorated shared of any agent’s fees during the term of the contract:
CHICAGO FIRE| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Cuauhtemoc Blanco | $2,492,316 | $2,666,778 |
| Chris Armas | 225,000 | 225,000 |
| Ivan Guerrero | 160,000 | 187,500 |
| Pascal Bedrossian | 175,008 | 185,008 |
| Justin Mapp | 130,000 | 136,000 |
| Diego Gutierrez | 126,500 | 126,500 |
| Jim Curtin | 120,750 | 120,750 |
| C.J. Brown | 106,391 | 106,391 |
| Bakary Soumare | 45,000 | 78,000 |
| Chris Rolfe | 70,000 | 74,700 |
| Logan Pause | 69,300 | 69,300 |
| Jon Busch | 58,008 | 58,008 |
| Gonzalo Segares | 48,300 | 50,800 |
| Calen Carr | 38,000 | 50,500 |
| Chad Barrett | 41,213 | 48,713 |
| Thiago Correa | 44,100 | 44,100 |
| Dasan Robinson | 42,500 | 42,500 |
| Osei Telesford | 36,000 | 36,625 |
| Matt Pickens | 32,340 | 32,340 |
| Brian Plotkin | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Floyd Franks | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Michael Banner | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jeff Curtin | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Erik Hort | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Nick Noble | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jordan Russolillo | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Daniel Woolard | 12,900 | 12,900 |
CHIVAS USA
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Amado Guevara | $250,000 | $291,250 |
| Ante Razov | 245,000 | 248,750 |
| Claudio Suarez | 146,992 | 146,992 |
| Jesse Marsch | 100,000 | 109,375 |
| Sacha Kljestan | 70,000 | 103,000 |
| Francisco Mendoza | 90,000 | 93,750 |
| Carlos Llamosa | 84,000 | 84,000 |
| Jorge Barrera | 75,000 | 75,000 | Maykel Galindo | 72,500 | 72,500 |
| Orlando Perez | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Alex Zotinca | 67,500 | 68,750 |
| Brad Guzan | 52,238 | 67,238 |
| Jonathan Bornstein | 57,500 | 57,500 |
| Matt Taylor | 48,654 | 53,654 |
| Preston Burpo | 52,492 | 52,492 |
| Jason Hernandez | 45,000 | 45,625 |
| John Cunliffe | 30,000 | 45,000 |
| David Arvizu | 33,000 | 40,500 |
| Lawson Vaughn | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Carlos Borja | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Rodrigo Lopez | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Laurent Merlin | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Desmond Brooks | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Bobby Burling | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Anthony Hamilton | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Eder Robles | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Mohammed Sethi | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Erasmo Solorzano | 12,900 | 12,900 |
COLUMBUS CREW
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Eddie Gaven | $165,000 | $188,000 |
| Frankie Hejduk | 150,000 | 175,000 |
| Marcos Gonzalez | 156,000 | 162,250 |
| Guillermo Barros Schelotto | 150,000 | 150,000 |
| Andy Herron | 140,000 | 148,750 |
| Chad Marshall | 100,000 | 123,000 |
| Ricardo Virtuoso | 60,000 | 102,000 |
| Jacob Thomas | 84,000 | 87,750 |
| Stefani Miglioranzi | 70,008 | 86,258 |
| Ezra Hendrickson | 76,650 | 77,900 |
| Duncan Oughton | 72,000 | 72,000 |
| Rusty Pierce | 63,000 | 64,300 |
| Joseph Ngwenya | 51,148 | 62,023 |
| Danny O’Rourke | 46,331 | 56,331 |
| Jason Garey | 41,250 | 53,750 |
| Ned Grabavoy | 45,050 | 52,550 |
| Robbie Rogers | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| Danny Szetela | 43,135 | 48,760 |
| Tim Ward | 38,456 | 48,456 |
| Kei Kamara | 33,000 | 43,000 |
| Brad Evans | 30,000 | 42,500 |
| Jed Zayner | 33,000 | 40,500 |
| William Hesmer | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Bill Gaudette | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Andy Gruenebaum | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Brandon Moss | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Aaron Chandler | 12,900 | 12,900 |
COLORADO RAPIDS
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Pablo Mastroeni | $280,000 | $298,000 |
| Greg Vanney | 216,667 | 236,667 |
| Jovan Kirovski | 200,000 | 200,000 |
| Conor Casey | 180,000 | 180,000 |
| Jose Cancela | 156,000 | 156,000 | Roberto Brown | 150,000 | 152,500 |
| Terry Cooke | 147,500 | 152,500 |
| Nicolas Hernandez | 130,000 | 132,400 |
| Mike Petke | 126,000 | 126,000 |
| Kyle Beckerman | 120,000 | 122,500 |
| Jacob Peterson | 70,000 | 88,750 |
| Nico Colaluca | 45,000 | 78,000 |
| Brandon Prideaux | 76,403 | 76,403 |
| Chris Wingert | 54,994 | 62,494 |
| Zach Thornton | 57,600 | 57,600 |
| Ugo Ihemelu | 55,000 | 55,000 |
| Herculez Gomez | 49,350 | 49,350 |
| Bouna Coundoul | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Omar Cummings | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Daniel Gargan | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Colin Clark | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Stephen Keel | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Daniel Wasson | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| John DiRaimondo | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jordan Harvey | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Justin Hughes | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Kosuke Kimura | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Nick LaBrocca | 12,900 | 12,900 |
FC DALLAS
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Carlos Ruiz | $325,000 | $435,000 |
| Shaka Hislop | 220,800 | 220,800 |
| Pablo Ricchetti | 120,000 | 126,625 |
| Adrian Serioux | 108,000 | 120,500 |
| Dario Sala | 110,000 | 119,875 |
| Ramon Nuñez | 100,000 | 118,000 |
| Chris Gbandi | 100,000 | 103,750 |
| Juan Carlos Toja | 100,008 | 100,008 |
| Kenny Cooper | 80,000 | 83,000 |
| Abdus Ibrahim | 50,000 | 83,000 |
| Roberto Mina | 80,000 | 80,000 |
| Anthony Wallace | 45,000 | 78,000 |
| Marcelo Saragosa | 67,008 | 71,883 |
| Drew Moor | 53,350 | 65,850 |
| Bobby Rhine | 60,000 | 62,500 |
| Clarence Goodson | 48,379 | 53,379 |
| Arturo Alvarez | 32,819 | 46,019 |
| Dax McCarty | 33,000 | 45,500 |
| Blake Wagner | 33,000 | 45,500 |
| David Wagenfuhr | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Alex Yi | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Aaron Pitchkolan | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Abe Thompson | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Ray Burse | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Michael Dello-Russo | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Dominic Oduro | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Andrew Daniels | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Sandy Gbandi | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Scott Jones | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Tommy Krizanovicv | 12,900 | 12,900 |
D.C. UNITED
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Luciano Emilio | $265,000 | $293,125 |
| Jaime Moreno | 250,000 | 275,000 |
| Silva Fred Da | 190,008 | 222,008 |
| Cristian Gomez | 216,000 | 218,500 |
| Ben Olsen | 155,000 | 177,500 |
| Brian Carroll | 115,000 | 118,750 |
| Facundo Erpen | 115,000 | 115,000 |
| Bryan Namoff | 85,000 | 88,750 |
| Troy Perkins | 85,000 | 87,500 |
| Bryan Arguez | 45,000 | 76,200 |
| Joshua Gros | 72,500 | 75,000 |
| Clyde Simms | 52,500 | 53,750 |
| Kasali Yinka Casal | 36,000 | 40,750 |
| John Wilson | 39,930 | 39,930 |
| Nicholas Addlery | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| Jay Nolly | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| Robert Boswell | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Jamil Walker | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Devon McTavish | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Rod Dyachenko | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Justin Moose | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Kiki Willis | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Marc Burch | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jeff Carroll | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Shawn Crowe | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Stephen DeRoux | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Brad North | 12,900 | 12,900 |
HOUSTON DYNAMO
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Richard Mulrooney | $220,000 | $233,200 |
| Brian Ching | 220,000 | 220,000 |
| Ricardo Clark | 195,000 | 195,000 |
| Dwayne DeRosario | 189,000 | 189,000 |
| Pat Onstad | 168,000 | 168,000 |
| Wade Barrett | 141,750 | 141,750 |
| Alejandro Moreno | 120,000 | 125,000 |
| Brian Mullan | 125,000 | 125,000 |
| Eddie Robinson | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| Patrick Ianni | 70,000 | 103,000 |
| Paul Dalglish | 96,000 | 101,000 |
| Brad Davis | 85,250 | 90,250 |
| Kelly Gray | 85,000 | 85,000 |
| Craig Waibel | 85,000 | 85,000 |
| Ryan Cochrane | 51,149 | 66,149 |
| Zach Wells | 50,400 | 50,400 |
| Stuart Holden | 31,500 | 31,500 |
| John-Michael Hayden | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Chris Wondolowski | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Mike Chabala | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Mpho Moloi | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Corey Ashe | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Eric Ebert | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Nick Hatzke | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jordan James | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Michael Sambursky | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Erik Ustruck | 12,900 | 12,900 |
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Eddie Johnson | $750,000 | $875,000 |
| Jimmy Conrad | 194,750 | 206,000 |
| Carlos Marinelli | 165,000 | 165,000 |
| Kerry Zavagnin | 154,000 | 154,000 |
| Kevin Hartman | 150,000 | 150,000 |
| Sasha Victorine | 137,500 | 140,000 |
| Nick Garcia | 131,250 | 136,250 |
| Jose Burciaga | 100,000 | 102,500 |
| Davy Arnaud | 100,000 | 101,875 |
| Ryan Pore | 44,825 | 57,325 |
| Michael Harrington | 36,000 | 53,500 |
| Jack Jewsbury | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| Yura Movsisyan | 35,750 | 45,750 |
| Will John | 33,075 | 40,575 |
| Scott Sealy | 33,075 | 33,075 |
| Matthew Groenwald | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Aaron Hohlbein | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Eric Kronberg | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Ryan McMahen | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Kurt Morsink | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Ryan Raybould | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Tyson Wahl | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Edson Elcock | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Aaron John Godbolt | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Lance Watson | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Willy Guadarrama | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Chris Konopka | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Michael Kraus | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Amir Lowery | 12,900 | 12,900 |
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| David Beckham | $5,500,000 | $6,500,000 |
| Landon Donovan | 900,000 | 900,000 |
| Joe Cannon | 192,000 | 192,000 |
| Tyrone Marshall | 142,000 | 149,500 |
| Chris Albright | 142,500 | 142,500 |
| Peter Vagenas | 131,250 | 131,875 |
| Nate Jaqua | 112,500 | 119,525 |
| Ante Jazic | 108,000 | 114,250 |
| Quavas Kirk | 75,000 | 111,500 |
| Santino Quaranta | 100,000 | 105,313 |
| Nathan Sturgis | 70,000 | 103,000 |
| Cobi Jones | 95,000 | 95,000 |
| Shavar Thomas | 70,000 | 73,750 |
| Kyle Martino | 52,500 | 55,297 |
| Gavin Glinton | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| Robert Findley | 36,000 | 48,500 |
| Ian Russell | 47,040 | 48,040 |
| Steve Cronin | 34,720 | 42,229 |
| Kevin Harmse | 40,800 | 40,800 |
| Alan Gordon | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Troy Roberts | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Josh Tudela | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Ty Harden | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Michael Randolph | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Kyle Veris | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Lance Friesz | 12,900 | 12,900 |
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Taylor Twellman | $325,008 | $350,008 |
| Pat Noonan | 225,000 | 227,500 |
| Shalrie Joseph | 170,625 | 180,625 |
| Daniel Hernandez | 155,000 | 155,000 |
| Steve Ralston | 150,000 | 150,000 |
| Matt Reis | 150,000 | 150,000 |
| Jay Heaps | 110,000 | 113,750 |
| Michael Parkhurst | 80,575 | 93,075 |
| Joey Franchino | 90,000 | 90,000 |
| Amaechi Igwe | 45,000 | 78,000 |
| Avery John | 63,000 | 63,750 |
| Doug Warren | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| Marshall Leonard | 47,500 | 47,500 |
| Khano Smith | 44,100 | 44,100 |
| Willie Sims | 35,500 | 43,000 |
| Andy Dorman | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| James Riley | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Bryan Byrne | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Jeff Larentowicz | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Wells Thompson | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Adam Cristman | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Ryan Solle | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Gary Flood | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Miguel Gonzalez | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Brad Knighton | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Chris Loftus | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Arsene Oka | 12,900 | 12,900 |
NEW YORK RED BULLS
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Juan Pablo Angel | $1,500,000 | $1,593,750 |
| Claudio Reyna | 1,000,008 | 1,250,008 |
| Clint Mathis | 270,000 | 410,000 |
| Dave Van Den Bergh | 180,000 | 214,583 |
| Ronald Waterreus | 200,000 | 200,000 |
| Dema Kovalenko | 190,000 | 197,375 |
| Markus Schopp | 175,000 | 175,000 |
| Josmer Altidore | 85,000 | 108,333 |
| Todd Dunivant | 99,750 | 99,750 |
| Jon Conway | 65,000 | 65,750 |
| John Wolyniec | 65,625 | 65,625 |
| Carlos Mendes | 62,606 | 62,606 |
| Hunter Freeman | 50,600 | 60,600 |
| Mike Magee | 56,206 | 57,206 |
| Taylor Graham | 55,000 | 55,000 |
| Jeff Parke | 47,250 | 48,500 |
| Tim Regan | 46,000 | 46,000 |
| Seth Stammler | 30,870 | 30,870 |
| Dane Richards | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Elie Ikangu | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Sinisa Ubiparipovic | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Salvatore Caccavale | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Blake Camp | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Danny Cepero | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Jerrod Laventure | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Hugh MacDonald | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Randi Patterson | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Joe Vide | 12,900 | 12,900 |
REAL SALT LAKE
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Freddy Adu | $300,000 | $550,000 |
| Eddie Pope | 265,000 | 265,000 |
| Jeffrey Cunningham | 220,000 | 232,500 |
| Jason Kreis | 160,000 | 197,500 |
| Chris Klein | 180,000 | 187,250 |
| Carey Talley | 118,248 | 118,248 |
| Nikolas Besagno | 75,000 | 111,500 |
| Luis Tejada | 105,000 | 105,000 |
| Daniel Torres | 90,000 | 100,000 |
| Chris Seitz 55,000 | 90,500 | |
| Mehdi Ballouchy | 70,000 | 88,000 |
| Andy Williams | 70,008 | 70,008 |
| Chris Brown | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Nick Rimando | 64,125 | 68,469 |
| Jamie Watson | 45,100 | 50,100 |
| Jack Stewart | 41,081 | 48,581 |
| Christian Jimenez | 33,075 | 43,075 |
| Kenny Cutler | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Willis Forko | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Atiba Harris | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Chris Lancos | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Kyle Brown | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Duke Hashimoto | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Jeff Rowland | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Steven Curfman | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Dustin Kirby | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Kyle Reynish | 12,900 | 12,900 |
TORONTO FC
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Carl Robinson | $300,000 | $15,000 |
| Ronnie O’Brien | 240,000 | 258,750 |
| Andrew Welsh | 195,000 | 204,750 |
| Alecko Eskandarian | 155,000 | 175,500 |
| Daniel Dichio | 150,000 | 158,125 |
| Jim Brennan | 150,000 | 158,000 |
| Edson Buddle | 140,000 | 150,000 |
| Marvell Wynne | 47,500 | 150,000 |
| Greg Sutton | 125,000 | 132,563 |
| Maurice Edu | 50,000 | 132,500 |
| Marcos Reda | 100,000 | 105,000 |
| Chris Pozniak | 90,000 | 95,000 |
| Paulo Nagamura | 89,250 | 89,250 |
| Adam Braz | 67,200 | 74,950 |
| Andrew Boyens | 30,000 | 47,500 |
| Maycoll Canizalez | 36,000 | 40,000 |
| Abdoulaye Ibrahim | 30,000 | 31,250 |
| Srdjan Djekanovic | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Andrea Lombardo | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Gabriel Gala | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Stephen Lumley | 12,900 | 12,900 |
| Joey Melo | 12,900 | 12,900 |
POOL
| Name | Base salary | Guarantee |
| Boris Pardo | $17,700 | $17,700 |
| Samuel Reynolds | 17,700 | 17,700 |
| Kenny Schoeni | 17,700 | 17,700 |
May 5, 2007
4:59 PM
Allen writes:
Angel's salary makes more sense. Rumor was it that NYRB was going to pay as much as he was going to get in the last year of his contract. That would've been around $4 million.
June 7, 2007
10:18 PM
Alvin Saavedra writes:
The disparity between these salaries are ridiculous players are not worth that much more than other players. And veterans who arent even that good are making bank. I didnt know there was tenure in mls