The MLS Players Association (MLSPA) has published its latest salary guide for Major League Soccer, detailing both base salaries and guaranteed compensation for all players. These figures represent the official salaries that count toward the league’s salary cap and exclude any third-party endorsement deals. This may explain why Lionel Messi is often reported to earn around $70–80 million annually, while his guaranteed compensation from Inter Miami CF stands at $28.33 million.
Despite that discrepancy, Messi remains the highest-paid player in MLS this season. The Argentine superstar leads the list ahead of LAFC forward Heung-min Son, who will receive a guaranteed $11.15 million from the Los Angeles club. In third place is another Inter Miami star, Rodrigo de Paul, who originally signed on a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) deal last season earning $1.5 million in base salary and $3.62 million guaranteed, but will now earn a guaranteed $9.69 million in 2026.
Both Argentines are expected to represent their country at the 2026 World Cup and have already justified their salaries—Messi and De Paul were instrumental in Inter Miami winning the MLS Cup last season, and the Herons remain one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this year. The same cannot be said for the fourth player on the list: Hirving Lozano. Despite being suspended by the club, the Mexican winger will collect $9.33 million from San Diego FC this season. Lozano fell out with the coaching staff during last season’s MLS Cup run, and the club later announced he was free to find a new team. Given his hefty salary, it’s understandable why the 30-year-old is willing to sit out the remainder of his contract.
Meanwhile, the highest-paid American player on the list plays in Canada. Toronto FC paid $22 million (€18.7m) plus $5 million (€4.2m) in add-ons to Norwich City for USMNT striker Josh Sargent in February, making him the biggest signing in club history and the third most expensive signing in MLS behind Son and Atlanta United’s Emmanuel Latte Lath. According to the MLSPA, Sargent will earn a guaranteed compensation of $5.27 million this season.
That salary ranks Sargent ahead of one of the league’s biggest stars: Thomas Müller. A 2014 World Cup winner with Germany, Müller joined the Vancouver Whitecaps on a TAM deal last season, earning an annualized guaranteed compensation of just $1.44 million. It was money well spent as Müller led the ‘Caps to their first-ever MLS Cup final, where they lost 3-1 to Inter Miami. Müller will be a Designated Player this season with a guaranteed compensation of $5.15 million.
Another former Germany teammate of Müller also features on the list. San Jose Earthquakes signed Timo Werner on a free transfer from RB Leipzig this winter. The move has paid off: Werner has scored four goals and three assists in seven games for the Quakes this season. Financially, it’s also a good deal for the 30-year-old German, who will earn a guaranteed $4.27 million in California. That places him just ahead of another new arrival, Germán Berterame. The Mexican joined Inter Miami as a DP this winter and will earn $3.82 million, but he has struggled, managing just three goals and two assists in 12 MLS games this season.
