Lionel Messi, Inter Miami lead way as MLS salaries rise - ESPN

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team continue to lead the way as the average MLS salary rose 9.7%, according to the latest MLS player salary data released by the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) Thursday.

Messi, who is under contract through the end of 2025, has an annual guaranteed compensation of $20.4 million, factoring in only the Argentina forward's salary. Previously, Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has said that Messi's total compensation, which includes a cut from the league's Apple TV deal, was in the $50 million to $60 million range.

Messi's total compensation was more than the entire payrolls of 22 other MLS teams.

Miami won the Supporters' Shield for the first time this year and set an MLS record for most points in the regular season with 74 after Messi's 11-minute hat trick inspired the team to a 6-2 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday.

The team's point total was aided in part by a record spend of $41.7 million. That is more than double the amount spent by 23 of the league's 29 teams.

The average outlay per team was $18.41 million, with the median settling in at $16.68 million. Spending big was by no means a guarantee of success, however. Of the 10 highest-spending teams, four missed the MLS Cup playoffs.

The top five salary-earners were rounded out by Toronto FC's Lorenzo Insigne at $15.4 million, Miami's Sergio Busquets at $8.77 million, Austin FC's Sebastián Driussi at $6.7 million and Toronto's Federico Bernardeschi at $6.3 million.

French World Cup winner Olivier Giroud has $3.7 million annualized total compensation under the contract he signed to join LAFC in July.

All data is as of Sept. 13, 2024. The salary data was annualized for players who arrived during the summer transfer window.

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