MLS rookie salaries: How much money do first year players make?
We take a look at player salaries and how much a rookie can make in the elite competition.
The MLS SuperDraft is here and with it the chance for college players to make the leap into the elite of American soccer and try their luck at becoming a top level professional footballer.
MLS SuperDraft always brings with it various questions, such as who can pick first, who are the names to look out for and how many players are in the pool. However, we’re going to take a look at salaries for MLS rookies, as well as those on the other end of the scale, just for fun.
The top ten picks of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft are locked and loaded. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/9YkZW8eaEL
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 20, 2024
How much does an MLS rookie make?
The salaries of all MLS players are published by the MLS Players’ Association, something which makes it very handy when searching for financial information regarding the stars of US soccer. If we cross check the salaries with the list of MLS 2023 rookies, we can see, according to the data, that the base salary for a rookie sits at $71,401,000 which is what various young players who moved to the league are currently earning.
However, that number can quickly rise. For example, Duncan McGuire, of Orlando City, was a SuperDraft pick in 2023 but now, just one year later, is earning over $800,000 per season.
Who is the highest paid player in MLS?
You don’t get an early Christmas present for working out that Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi was, by far and away, the highest paid player in MLS across 2023.
The World Cup winner signed a $20,000,000 per year deal with the Florida club, a huge leap up from what Lorenzo Insigne ($15m) earns, in second place.
MLS top 10 salaries 2024:
- Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | $20 million
- Lorenzo Insigne | Toronto FC | $12 million
- Sergio Busquets | Inter Miami | $8.77 million
- Sebastián Driussi | Austin FC | $6.72 million
- Federico Bernadeschi | Toronto FC | $6.3 million
- Emil Forsberg | NYRB | $6.03 million
- Héctor Herrera | Houston Dynamo | $5.24 million
- Hany Mukhtar | Nashville SC | $5.21 million
- Christian Benteke | DC United | $4.69 million
- Riqui Puig | LA Galaxy | $4.64 million
🚨 It's SuperDraft Day! 🥳
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 20, 2024
Here's the official pick order 1 hour before the draft starts. pic.twitter.com/Ev8BNQr5qo
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