The Major League Soccer Players Association released the year's first set of salary figures on Wednesday, and as ever, those figures made a lot of news.
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For the first time ever, the Union's payroll exceeds $8 million — and nearly hits $9 million. The team has $8,915,987.84 in guaranteed compensation on its books. That is a major jump from the $7,178,431.71 spent on salaries last year.
Much of the increase in spending went toward the Union's two big winter signings. Midfield playmaker Borek Dockal is earning $1,714,285.68, while winger David Accam is earning $1,250,000.04. Dockal's salary is the 19th-highest across MLS this year. Accam's ranks 35th.
Accam brought that salary with him when the Union acquired the Ghanaian from Chicago in January. Though his salary is well above the Designated Player threshold of $504,375, his salary cap hit was bought down with a large sum of of MLS' so-called Targeted Allocation Money.
Alejandro Bedoya, the Union's first ever millionaire, got a small raise this year to $1,266,250.00, putting him 34th in the league-wide standings.
Two other players got big raises with new contracts. Goalkeeper Andre Blake's pay got bumped up $313,500 in January to $500,000; and striker C.J. Sapong got a $225,000.00 raise in mid-March to $525,000.00 after last year's 16-goal campaign.
(Sapong has scored just one goal since getting that raise, by the way. Dockal has one goal and one assist with the Union, and Accam has no goals and no assists.)
Striker Jay Simpson, signed last year to lead the team's attack, got a raise in his existing contract of over $115,000. The Englishman has scored just one goal in 24 appearances for the Union, and has played just twice this year — both times as late-game substitutes.
Three Union veterans took pay cuts when they re-signed with the team over the winter: defender Fabinho ($14,579) and midfielders Fabian Herbers ($35,492) and Ilsinho ($191,333.33).
On the whole, the Union's payroll fulfills owner Jay Sugarman's offseason promise that he'd provide "significantly more resources" to sporting director Earnie Stewart "than he's ever had."
But while salary data is absolute, it's also relative. As MLS evolves, many other teams are spending more money too — and in many cases, a lot more. The Union's increase in payroll is the ninth-largest of MLS' 23 teams, but their total expenditure on payroll ranks just 15th league-wide.
Not surprisingly, the teams with MLS' biggest stars top those standings. Toronto FC is once again No. 1 at $26,167,498.69, thanks to Sebastian Giovinco ($7,115,555.67), Michael Bradley ($6.5 million) and Jozy Altidore ($5 million). Giovinco's salary is the league's highest, and Bradley's is second-highest.
The Los Angeles Galaxy rank second at $17,502,008.29, with Mexico's Giovani dos Santos accounting for $6 million of that. Superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's salary is officially just $1.5 million.
New York City FC is third at $14,147,632.75, with David Villa's $5.61 million salary front and center. In Chicago, Bastian Schweinsteiger's $6.1 million salary accounts for nearly half of the Fire's $13,824,204.43 payroll.
Expansion team Los Angeles FC ranks No. 5 league-wide at $13,432,052.68. Leading man Carlos Vela is MLS' top Mexican star, and he commands a salary to match the billing: $6,292,500, ranked No. 3 in the league.
There are 46 players across MLS earning salaries of at least $1 million. That smashes the previous record of 31, set last season.
Below you'll find the full Union's full payroll, the league-wide payroll ranking, and other notable facts and figures from around MLS. Click here for our archive of MLS salary data going back to 2010.
Philadelphia Union payroll
Each name is followed by up to four numbers: base salary, guaranteed compensation, and any change in each figure from the previous release last September.
| Player | Base | Guaranteed | Change in base | Change in guaranteed |
| GK Andre Blake | $450,000.00 | $500,000.00 | +$302,000.00 | +$313,500.00 |
| GK John McCarthy | $95,000.00 | $104,250.00 | +$8,500.00 | +$8,500.00 |
| GK Jake McGuire | $55,654.20 | $55,654.20 | +$2,650.20 | +$2,650.20 |
| D Jack Elliott | $59,629.50 | $59,629.50 | +$6,625.50 | +$6,625.50 |
| D Fabinho | $153,000.00 | $153,000.00 | -$6,759.00 | -$14,579.00 |
| D Raymon Gaddis | $180,000.00 | $182,500.00 | +$15,000.00 | +$15,000.00 |
| D Richie Marquez | $145,000.00 | $151,430.00 | +$12,000.00 | +$12,000.00 |
| D Olivier Mbaizo | $67,500.00 | $67,500.00 | New player | New player |
| D Mark McKenzie1 | $54,500.04 | $64,500.04 | New player | New player |
| D Matthew Real1 | $54,500.04 | $54,500.04 | New player | New player |
| D Keegan Rosenberry | $114,950.00 | $120,762.50 | +$10,450.00 | +$10,450.00 |
| D Auston Trusty1 | $80,000.00 | $109,100.00 | +$5,000.00 | +$5,000.00 |
| D Josh Yaro | $140,000.00 | $224,000.00 | +$10,000.00 | +$30,000.00 |
| M David Accam2 | $1,250,000.04 | $1,250,000.04 | +$500,000.04 | +$429,062.54 |
| M Eric Ayuk | $68,906.25 | $68,906.25 | +$3,281.25 | +$3,281.25 |
| M Alejandro Bedoya3 | $1,200,000.00 | $1,266,250.00 | +$69,000.00 | +$69,000.00 |
| M Warren Creavalle | $140,000.00 | $153,000.00 | +$15,000.00 | +$15,000.00 |
| M Borek Dockal3 | $1,714,285.68 | $1,714,285.68 | New player | New player |
| M Marcus Epps | $55,654.20 | $55,654.20 | +$2,650.20 | +$2,650.20 |
| M Anthony Fontana1 | $65,004.00 | $73,421.60 | +$12,000.00 | +12,000.00 |
| M Fabian Herbers | $100,008.00 | $100,008.00 | -$9,992.00 | -$35,492.00 |
| M Ilsinho | $300,000.00 | $327,000.00 | -$170,000.00 | -$191,333.33 |
| M Derrick Jones1 | $70,000.00 | $75,900.00 | +$5,000.00 | +$5,000.00 |
| M Haris Medunjanin2 | $500,004.00 | $545,004.00 | +$39,996.00 | +$39,996.00 |
| M Adam Najem1 | $71,500.04 | $71,500.04 | +$6,500.00 | +$6,500.00 |
| M Fafa Picault | $135,000.00 | $148,666.67 | +$20,000.04 | +$20,000.04 |
| F Cory Burke | $67,500.00 | $71,223.75 | New player | New player |
| F C.J. Sapong | $525,000.00 | $525,000.00 | +$225,000.00 | +$225,000.00 |
| F Jay Simpson | $580,008.00 | $623,341.33 | +$115,008.00 | +$115,008.00 |
1 – Homegrown Players. Najem counts because the Union acquired his homegrown rights from the New York Red Bulls. A list of all homegrown players league-wide is available here.
2 – Designated Player. A list of all such players league-wide is available here.
3 – Salary cap hit paid down with Targeted Allocation Money.
The Union currently have 29 players on their roster. They can have up to 30, plus one under contract who is loaned for the year to their USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel.
Team payroll comparison
In past years, this section has listed teams' payrolls and their changes in spending on the same line. But this year, the changes have been really dramatic. So there are two lists: a ranking of payrolls and a ranking of changes in spending since the last salary data release.
Teams ranked by payroll
This list comes with the perennial caveat that it isn't perfect. Some teams' payrolls include players who are out on loan to other clubs, and some do not. The players union has gotten better about keeping track of this, but some players slip through the cracks at times.
| Team | Base salary | Guaranteed compensation | Change in ranking |
| 1. Toronto FC | $23,480,305.24 | $26,167,498.69 | No change |
| 2. Los Angeles Galaxy | $14,799,179.79 | $17,502,008.29 | +3 |
| 3. New York City FC | $13,249,557.75 | $14,147,632.75 | -1 |
| 4. Chicago Fire | $13,165,346.10 | $13,824,204.43 | No change |
| 5. Los Angeles FC | $11,254,868.77 | $13,432,052.68 | New team |
| 6. Portland Timbers | $11,209,418.04 | $12,516,334.71 | +1 |
| 7. Montreal Impact | $7,230,910.72 | $11,888,540.60 | +12 |
| 8. Seattle Sounders | $9,767,458.36 | $11,376,125.36 | -2 |
| 9. Atlanta United | $10,369,120.49 | $11,306,330.49 | -1 |
| 10. Colorado Rapids | $9,981,476.61 | $11,001,331.46 | +2 |
| 11. FC Dallas | $8,239,754.28 | $9,333,819.28 | +2 |
| 12. Sporting Kansas City | $8,825,489.64 | $9,176,166.46 | +6 |
| 13. Orlando City | $8,230,667.88 | $8,981,657.53 | -10 |
| 14. Real Salt Lake | $8,228,527.92 | $8,975,665.57 | -5 |
| 15. Philadelphia Union | $8,492,603.99 | $8,915,987.84 | +1 |
| 16. Vancouver Whitecaps | $7,531,016.48 | $8,233,011.70 | -5 |
| 17. Minnesota United | $7,561,893.83 | $8,152,682.50 | +4 |
| 18. San Jose Earthquakes | $7,116,234.78 | $7,787,252.57 | -8 |
| 19. New York Red Bulls | $7,079,490.20 | $7,689,313.93 | -4 |
| 20. Columbus Crew | $6,632,083.47 | $6,971,083.47 | -7 |
| 21. New England Revolution | $6,139,673.54 | $6,818,556.10 | +1 |
| 22. D.C. United | $6,325,796.94 | $6,744,419.62 | -3 |
| 23. Houston Dynamo | $5,267,338.29 | $5,673,471.62 | -3 |
What accounts for all the volatility? Here are a few headline items:
— Montreal signed playmaker Ignacio Piatti to a big-money new Designated Player contract — but one that's structured very unusually. His base salary is $500,000.04, but his guaranteed compensation — the metric by which teams are ranked here — is $4,713,333.37.
— Sporting Kansas City jumped in part because it signed DP midfielder Felipe Gutiérrez for $1,599,999.96 / $1,649,999.96.
— Orlando City plummeted because of the departure of Kaká, who commanded the biggest salary in MLS history at $6,660,000.00 / $7,167,500.00.
— Real Salt Lake dropped on what might be a technicality. They loaned Designated Player midfielder Yura Movsisyan to Swedish club Djurgården, so his $1,850,000.00 / $2,073,750.00 salary doesn't count for these purposes.
— Portland's payroll also includes a player who's out on loan, forward Lucas Melano. His salary is $830,000.00 / $1,050,000.00.
— Vancouver no longer has Fredy Montero, who earned $1,400,000.04 / $1,800,000.04.
— Minnesota signed Designated Player midfielder Darwin Quintero for $1,650,000.00 / $1,650,000.00.
— Columbus' drop comes from the departure of Ola Kamara ($825,000.00 / $925,000.00), and from Gaston Sauro taking a nearly $400,000 pay cut.
— San Jose's drop is mostly because of other teams rising, as you'll see in the next list.
— You might be surprised to see the Red Bulls so low, given how much they spent to acquire playmaker Alejandro "Kaku" Romero Gamarra. But while his transfer fee was $6.25 million, his listed salary is just $709,090.80 / $709,090.80.
— Similarly, while Atlanta United spent a MLS record $15 million on Ezequiel Barco's transfer fee, his salary is relatively modest for a DP: $1,425,000.00 / $1,425,000.00.
Teams ranked by change in spending
Los Angeles FC is not included because they are an expansion team.
| Team | Change in base salary | Change in guaranteed compensation |
| 1. Montréal Impact | +$1,385,231.60 | +$5,563,924.30 |
| 2. Los Angeles Galaxy | +$2,857,307.67 | +$4, |
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