The Major League Soccer Players Association released the first of two 2022 Salary Guides on Wednesday. That included information on current players in MLS and also for the LA Galaxy.
And while players, coaches, and front office staff have always questioned the overall accuracy of the information that is released by the union, it’s the closest thing MLS has to acknowledging how much players make.
When we look at league-wide numbers the LA Galaxy are spending just over $20.5-million in 2022. That’s a significant increase in spending over last year’s first release of numbers that had the Galaxy pegged at just over $16.8-million in total spending. But sees the Galaxy sitting second in overall spending in the league behind Atlanta United’s nearly $21-million.
In terms of positional spending, the Galaxy rank first in MLS with nearly $12,500,000 spent on a forward crew that consists of the second highest-paid player in the league in Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez who is making $6-million per year, and Douglas Costa who is making $3-million per year (16th highest paid in the league). Chicago Fires’ Xherdan Shaqiri takes over the top spot in the league making $8,153,000 in 2022 and makes him the highest-paid player in league history.
The LA Galaxy dropped to 25th in the league in Midfielder spending (owed in large part to the forwards/midfielders who split time between the two groups), spend the 4th most in the league on defenders, and are 10th in the league in spending on Goalkeepers (See charts below).
And while we’re only 11 to 12 games into the season, it’s always fun to look at who is getting the most bang for their buck (note: the Galaxy are rarely on the top of this list even when winning MLS Cups).
Real Salt Lake tops the list right now with a $551,466 cost per point. Chicago is the worst with $1,764546 per point and the LA Galaxy sit 18th on this list with a cost per point of $1,080,423 per point.
Individually, outside of knowing how much Costa makes, the Galaxy are actually a pretty known team in terms of salaries. But there are several pay increases and one surprising pay cut that round out the roster.
Raheem Edwards was making $96,375 last season with LAFC but got a $211,125 bump in salary when he signed with the Galaxy. Edwards will now garner $307,500 per year according to the players union.
Kevin Cabral received a significant bump as well, although with his $1.4-million contract the $210,000 per year raise is mostly swallowed in the annual bumps already agreed to in his Designated Player contract. Cabral will make $1.65-million in 2022.
Nick Depuy received a nearly $150,000 raise from last season after making just $81,375 the season in 2021 with the Galaxy. And Mark Delgado, a Greg Vanney favorite from Toronto is making nearly $150,000 more this season with a salary of $726,250 in guaranteed compensation.
In total, 20 players on the roster are making more in 2022 than they were last season. And only one player took any sort of significant hit to their salary this season. Sacha Kljestan was making $247,350 last season. But his contract in 2022 pays him just $84,000. And while Kljestan is long-expected to make this year his last, his $163,350 pay cut is a large chunk to cut out.
The Galaxy haven’t made any announcement that Kljestan is also being paid for any coaching duties, and the league makes an allowance to do such a thing as long as more than 50-percent of the salary comes from playing duties. But for now, he’s one of just two guys to take any sort of significant bump.
The charts are below so that you can peruse and figure out which Galaxy player is the best deal and who is the most overpaid. So enjoy it, and be nice.
CHARTS
