Resumen Ejecutivo
- The median guaranteed compensation for MLS players grew from $200,000 in 2021 to $339,000 in 2025, a 70% jump in 5 years, with wage growth settling at ~11% a year in the last 3 years.
- There is significant variation in compensation across positions, with goalkeepers and defenders generally on the lower end of the spectrum and midfield and attacking positions at the higher end.
- The MLS-AppleTV+ $250M per year streaming deal represents an average of just $8.3M a year per team, and its 2032 expiration date will likely limit significant wage growth in the coming years.
- There is a chasm between the median compensation at the other top 4 US sports leagues and the MLS, with the MLS guaranteed median coming it at just 5.5% of the NBA’s $6.3M a year.
- Similarly, the leading European soccer leagues have considerably higher median compensations and most have rules that allow only a small number of roster spots for non-EU players, a high barrier to entry for American soccer players and a limitation on their career development.
- With the 2026 World Cup, the MLS and US Soccer will have a golden opportunity of mainstream attention on the sport, which the league and US athletes should use to their advantage to forge transformational new commercial partnerships and pursue government support for their projects.
MLS Player Compensation Growth
- Median guaranteed compensation for MLS players grew at an 11.1% Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the last 5 seasons, with growth accelerating after the Covid-19-affected seasons.
- The 2024 MLS-Apple $250M per year, 10-Year streaming deal, a fraction of the size of other US-sports leagues, will likely limit compensation growth over the coming years and may hamper the league’s audience growth given the lower reach of AppleTV+ relative to other streamers.
Median Guaranteed Compensation (2021-2025)
MLS Player Compensation by Position
- Midfield and attacking positions dominate the highest paying rankings, driven by the higher prominence of Designated Players and international talent in those roles.
- Given the league’s low salary cap and strong competition for talent, teams tend to prioritize spending on goal scoring positions, with defensive roles more frequently filled by homegrown players.
Median Guaranteed Compensation by Position (2025)
MLS Player Compensation by Team
- In 2024, 7 of the 10 clubs with the highest median compensation ended in the top 10 of the overall standings table, although MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy was only 13th in median compensation.
- MLS teams generally rely more on gate and merchandising revenue than teams in the other top 5 US leagues given the MLS’ smaller broadcast deals. This may limit their flexibility to invest in younger, homegrown players and exacerbates the financial differences between teams.
Median Guaranteed Compensation by Club (2025)
Top 5 US Sports Leagues Player Compensation
- Median MLS player compensation is considerably lower than in the NBA and NFL, at just 5.5% of the median NBA compensation and roughly 30% of the median NFL player’s total compensation.
- The NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL are all considered the top leagues in their respective sports, while European leagues are at the center of the soccer world. Nevertheless, most European soccer leagues have median compensations lower than $1M, illustrating the financial power of US sports.
Median Compensation by Sports League (20251)
Note 1. Public contract data and estimates as of July 8, 2025
Global Soccer Leagues Player Compensation
- European leagues dominate the soccer conversation, and their teams often have global fandoms, which has helped them secure large broadcasting and streaming deals and attract top global talent.
- Despite their high revenues and large followings, soccer clubs in Europe are not typically very profitable, driven by the lack of a strong salary cap structure, sky-high player transfer fees, the fear of missing international competitions and the constant threat of relegation.
Median Compensation by Soccer League (Top Divisions) (2024-20251)
- 2024-2025 season earnings data for European leagues, 2025 MLSPA Salary Guide for MLS. ↩︎
