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As they do almost every year around this time, the MLS Players’ Union has released player salary information for the current season. Below is the salary of every Philadelphia Union player as of a week and a half ago. Click here for the salaries of every player in MLS.
2017 Union Player Salaries as of April 15th
| Club | Last Name | First Name | Position | Base Salary | Guar. Comp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Last Name | First Name | Position | Base Salary | Guar. Comp. |
| PHI | Alberg^ | Roland | M | $345,000.00 | $394,250.00 |
| PHI | Ayuk | Eric | M | $65,625.00 | $65,625.00 |
| PHI | Bedoya* | Alejandro | M | $1,131,000.00 | $1,197,250.00 |
| PHI | Blake | Andre | GK | $148,500.00 | $186,500.00 |
| PHI | Carroll | Brian | M | $132,000.00 | $140,000.00 |
| PHI | Creavalle | Warren | M | $125,000.00 | $138,000.00 |
| PHI | Davies | Charlie | F | $108,960.00 | $114,684.94 |
| PHI | Edu* | Maurice | M | $750,000.00 | $818,750.00 |
| PHI | Elliott | Jack | D | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| PHI | Epps | Marcus | M | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| PHI | Fabinho | Fabinho | D | $159,759.00 | $167,759.00 |
| PHI | Gaddis | Raymon | D | $165,000.00 | $167,500.00 |
| PHI | Herbers° | Fabian | M-F | $110,000.00 | $135,500.00 |
| PHI | Ilsinho^ | M | $470,000.00 | $518,333.33 | |
| PHI | Jones | Aaron | D | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| PHI | Jones | Derrick | M | $65,000.00 | $70,900.00 |
| PHI | Marquez | Richard | D | $133,000.00 | $139,430.00 |
| PHI | McCarthy | John | GK | $86,500.00 | $95,750.00 |
| PHI | McGuire | Jake | GK | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| PHI | Medunjanin^ | Haris | M | $460,008.00 | $505,008.00 |
| PHI | Najem | Adam | M | $65,000.04 | $65,000.04 |
| PHI | Onyewu | Oguchi | D | $65,004.00 | $65,004.00 |
| PHI | Picault | Fabrice | F | $114,999.96 | $128,666.63 |
| PHI | Pontius | Chris | M-F | $400,000.00 | $431,000.00 |
| PHI | Rosenberry | Keegan | D | $104,500.00 | $110,312.50 |
| PHI | Sapong | CJ | F | $300,000.00 | $300,000.00 |
| PHI | Simpson^ | Jay | F | $465,000.00 | $508,333.33 |
| PHI | Tribbett | Ken | D | $65,000.00 | $65,000.00 |
| PHI | Trusty | Auston | D | $75,000.00 | $104,100.00 |
| PHI | Wijnaldum | Giliano | D | $65,004.00 | $78,337.33 |
| PHI | Yaro° | Joshua | D | $130,000.00 | $194,000.00 |
| Total | $6,516,876.00 | $7,117,010.00 |
* denotes Designated Players, players whose budget charges are above the maximum of $480,625.
^ denotes players who required the use of Targeted Allocation Money because their budget charges are above the DP threshold, and/or because the club used TAM to buy them from their previous club.
° denotes Generation Adidas players, who have no impact on the club’s salary budget.
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Notes:
- Every returning player has seen at least a modest raise in pay since last season. In most cases, that’s likely a result of a year-over-year base salary increase and/or the fulfillment of certain incentives. In some cases, it appears that players have signed new contracts.
- Keegan Rosenberry’s and Richie Marquez’s guaranteed compensation figures have greatly increased. Rosenberry’s jumped from $68,312.50 to $110,312.50, and Marquez is now making $139,430 compared to $69,400 last season. These increases could be the result of performance incentives that the players met in the 2016 season, though they’re so large that it seems that the players have signed new contracts. The Union have not announced new contracts for either Rosenberry or Marquez.
- Jay Simpson’s listed guaranteed compensation is an astounding $508,333.33. That figure made me spit all over my phone upon my first reading of it. Before Simpson, no Union forward has ever received more than $400,000 in guaranteed compensation annually. For a league-wide comparison, here’s a brief list of MLS forwards making less money: Juan Agudelo, Will Bruin, Cristian Colman, Alberth Elis, Kenwyne Jones, Ola Kamara, Darren Mattocks, Jack McInerney, Jordan Morris, Dominic Oduro, Joao Plata, Romell Quioto, Luis Solignac, Maxi Urruti. Yikes.
- Simpson notwithstanding, the new players’ salaries seem pretty reasonable. Haris Medunjanin’s salary does require TAM, but his pedigree and quality justify the cost. Fafa Picault and Giliano Wijnaldum have failed to make much of an impact thus far, but neither player is breaking the bank.
- It’s worth noting that Alejandro Bedoya’s annual guaranteed compensation is now nearly $1.2m, as opposed to the $1m that was initially reported.
- CJ Sapong, who signed a three-year contract prior to the 2016 season, saw his guaranteed compensation jump from $225,000 last year to $300,000. Whether that increase was agreed upon when the contract was signed or not, that’s a substantial bump.
- Maurice Edu, who is now making $818,750, has not played a single minute so far this season. Mix Diskerud and Lucas Melano are the only other players who rank among the top-50 highest-paid in MLS not to have played in the league this year. Both of those players are out on loan.
Think someone is massively overpaid or underpaid? Let us hear it in the comments!