Philadelphia Union
MLS Salaries Released: The Union are big spenders on defense
The season’s first edition of Major League Soccer players’ compensation has been released by the Major League Soccer Players Association. There’s a lot to dig into with respect to the Union. First of all, exactly how big was the raise did Kai Wagner get? And how much of a pay cut did club legend Alejandro Bedoya take?
But let’s start with the big picture first. The current numbers show that the Union are set to spend $14.8 million in guaranteed compensation for this season. This ranks 24th in a league of 29 teams. The good news, I guess, is that the Union moved up one spot from the end of last year.
Nevertheless, this low ranking is unsatisfying when looking at Sportico’s estimate of league revenues, which rank the Union 10th in 2023. The small time Union don’t appear so small time. For the Union to rank 10th in the league in player compensation they’d need to spend an additional $2 million a year. Seems like a reasonable stretch to be able to match revenues with salaries.
The Union did actually grow their payroll by 10% year-over-year, which was significantly more than the paltry league average of 4% per team. Side note: Is MLS trying to grow with GDP? 4%? Pretty pathetic on the back of the “big” deal with Apple TV.
The year’s biggest raise didn’t actually go to Kai Wagner. The biggest raise went to Daniel Gazdag, whose compensation went from $1.35 million to $1.76 million. Wagner should be happy though. He’s now at $1.03 million this year, which is a raise of roughly $300 thousand.
Bedoya did take one on the chin, which makes sense given his limited role with the, er wait, he’s basically a starter isn’t he? His compensation was $1.06 million last year and now he’s down to $450 thousand. No justice there.
One more interesting tidbit is the Union’s commitment to defense, at least when it comes to payroll. The Union rank 4th in expenditure on defensive positions (backline and goalkeeping), spending $6 million on that area of the pitch. That strategy doesn’t appear to be working this year as only six teams have given up more goals than the Union. Interestingly enough, MLS Cup holders the Columbus Crew rank 29th in spending on defense. No justice there.
Here’s a look at the full roster:
| First Name | Last Name | Club | Position(s) | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
| Mikael | Uhre | Philadelphia Union | Center Forward | $1,800,000 | $2,040,000 |
| Dániel | Gazdag | Philadelphia Union | Attacking Midfield | $1,600,000 | $1,757,500 |
| Jakob | Glesnes | Philadelphia Union | Center-back | $1,000,000 | $1,138,125 |
| Kai | Wagner | Philadelphia Union | Left-back | $875,000 | $1,032,500 |
| Julián | Carranza | Philadelphia Union | Center Forward | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Andre | Blake | Philadelphia Union | Goalkeeper | $800,000 | $919,375 |
| Jack | Elliott | Philadelphia Union | Center-back | $800,000 | $893,750 |
| Tai | Baribo | Philadelphia Union | Center Forward | $650,000 | $760,000 |
| José | Martínez | Philadelphia Union | Defensive Midfield | $600,000 | $674,167 |
| Alejandro | Bedoya | Philadelphia Union | Central Midfield | $324,996 | $449,996 |
| Olivier | Mbaizo | Philadelphia Union | Right-back | $350,000 | $423,589 |
| Joaquín | Torres | Philadelphia Union | Right Wing | $300,000 | $349,800 |
| Damion | Lowe | Philadelphia Union | Center-back | $300,000 | $343,333 |
| Leon | Flach | Philadelphia Union | Central Midfield | $300,000 | $314,500 |
| Jesús | Bueno | Philadelphia Union | Defensive Midfield | $280,000 | $312,625 |
| Olwethu | Makhanya | Philadelphia Union | Center-back | $225,000 | $263,875 |
| Nathan | Harriel | Philadelphia Union | Right-back | $240,000 | $262,050 |
| Jack | McGlynn | Philadelphia Union | Central Midfield | $200,000 | $226,533 |
| Brandan | Craig | Philadelphia Union | Center-back | $160,000 | $172,825 |
| Matt | Real | Philadelphia Union | Left-back | $155,000 | $171,500 |
| Quinn | Sullivan | Philadelphia Union | Right Midfield | $150,000 | $153,500 |
| Richard | Odada | Philadelphia Union | Central Midfield | $110,000 | $130,300 |
| Chris | Donovan | Philadelphia Union | Center Forward | $89,716 | $109,872 |
| Jeremy | Rafanello | Philadelphia Union | Attacking Midfield | $100,000 | $107,636 |
| Oliver | Semmle | Philadelphia Union | Goalkeeper | $89,716 | $106,040 |
| Markus | Anderson | Philadelphia Union | Left Wing | $100,000 | $102,000 |
| Jamir | Berdecio | Philadelphia Union | Right-back | $89,716 | $97,910 |
| Holden | Trent | Philadelphia Union | Goalkeeper | $89,716 | $89,716 |
| Sanders | Ngabo | Philadelphia Union | Central Midfield | $71,401 | $87,986 |
| David | Vazquez | Philadelphia Union | Left Wing | $71,401 | $87,281 |
| Nelson | Pierre | Philadelphia Union | Center Forward | $71,401 | $85,517 |
| Isaiah | LeFlore | Philadelphia Union | Left-back | $71,401 | $80,764 |
| Nick | Pariano | Philadelphia Union | Attacking Midfield | $71,401 | $76,594 |
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