MLS continues to grow: How much have salary costs increased in recent years?

This year marks the 26th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), which year after year continues to demonstrate that it is growing in all aspects: stadiums, technology, players. But what caught our attention is that a study revealed that teams have tripled their salary expenses in the last 10 years.

The International Center for Sports Studies (CIES), published the profits that clubs have made. The average expenditure went from $4.4 million since 2012 to $12 million in 2019.  The last report with official data regarding player salaries dates back to 2019. At that time, there were 50 who exceeded $1 million and only 9 earned $3 million.

The rest, meanwhile, received 300 thousand dollars. This aspect had a great growth since 2007, where 90% of the players had 180 thousand dollars a year, and today the base is at 860 thousand. The most expensive players are usually the South Americans who come to the country or the elite players who go to play their last years in this league.

In 2019, the last year for which official data is available, there were 50 players earning more than one million - nine of them received at least three million - while the remaining two-thirds of the players only received 300 thousand dollars per season.According to the report, in 2007, 90 percent of U.S. league players earned less than $187,000 a year and "the same threshold stands today at $860,000.

Major League Soccer is the top league in the United States and Canadian soccer league system. It is overseen by the U.S. Soccer and the Canadian Soccer Association. It is made up of 27 teams in two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The regular season champion receives the MLS Supporters' Shield.  The countries that have the most presence in MLS are: Argentina (30), Mexico (27), England (23), Spain (18), Germany (17), Colombia (14) and Brazil (13).