Salary update adds fuel to Philadelphia Union spending discussion

As the Philadelphia Union wait to wrap up their 2023 season and make a legitimate run at the MLS Cup, there is a dark cloud releasing a little rain over the organization. Public discussions about the offseason roster plans have brought ownership’s reluctance to spend money to the forefront.

First, Kai Wagner went to social media to effectively announce he would not be returning next year. The issue seems to be a disagreement over Wagner’s value. Next came a report from Tom Bogert that Alejandro Bedoya and his $1 million in guaranteed compensation won’t be returning to the team. The reason for this oddly timed twist can only be money.

Yesterday, more bad news came for the Union. The MLS Players Union released the year end player salaries, and it’s yet another reminder that the Union spend is near the bottom of the league. The Union rank 5th to last in player compensation with $13.3 million in total guaranteed compensation in 2023. Compare that to Miami’s $39.4 million and Toronto FC’s $32.3 million and you get a sense for the gap.

The Union could clearly pay Bedoya for his leadership and Wagner for his all-star caliber play and still not reach the middle of the spending table.

It’s a frustrating reality for Union fans, made worse by the fact that ownership is seemingly wasting the talent of Ernst Tanner, who has proven he can build a competitive roster with few resources. But imagine if Tanner was given even just a few more million to play with? Would that be enough to put this ever-so-close team over the top?

The situation looks worse when you consider the transfer market, which is not included in the MLS salary release. Looking at transfermkt.com shows that the Union have been sellers more than buyers over the past three seasons, to the tune of nearly 3x in incoming fees versus outgoing fees. That means that the owners, at least from an outsider’s perspective, have been pocketing transfer fees and not reinvesting in the team.

The argument that rests on the side of the owners is that MLS has not proven to be a pay-to-win league. MLS has the lowest correlation of team wage bills to points in the standings of any major soccer league. It’s nearly nothing. So if you are a Union owner, why not just pay Tanner to keep you competitive when spending more money doesn’t seem to matter?  

Should Kai Wagner be paid more?

The recent salary data shows that Kai’s base salary is $630K and $701K in terms of guaranteed compensation, which amortizes any signing bonuses or agent fees for a total view. That already is a good bit more than other all-star full backs. Cincinnati’s left-back Alvaro Barreal will collect $519K in guaranteed compensation this year. The other all-star backs Jon Gallagher and John Tolkin make $300K and $436K, respectively. 

But Kai might prefer to compare himself to Richie Laryea, a recent transfer from Nottingham Forest to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Richie reportedly commands over $1.4 million and his skillset is comparable to Wagner’s. Certainly that would appear to be Wagner’s absolute ceiling.

But the barrier between Wagner and the Union is likely the Designated Player issue. The current Designated Player salary limit of $651K. Wagner’s requested compensation will put him above that threshold. The Union can buy him down below that threshold with GAM, but they may not want to do that for other roster construction reasons, especially if Wagner’s request is a good bit higher than the DP line. 

Why must Bedoya leave?

Alejandro Bedoya is the leader of this team and is one of the core reasons for the Union’s surge into respectability since he arrived. Yes, he’ll be 37 years old for most of next season and already spends quite a bit of time nursing injuries, but leadership is very hard to replace.

For my money, $1 million for another season of Bedoya, while the Union try to stay near the top of the table and compete in the Concacaf Champions League (I’m not calling it anything different), is well worth it.

While the Union already sit near the bottom of the table in salary, they’re set to lower that paltry sum by more than 10 percent going into next year. The pressure will no doubt be on Sugarman and Co. to spend that saved money and more to keep the Union relevant.