Ranking every MLS club by their wage bill in 2025: Where do Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami rank?
Major League Soccer clubs don’t quite spend as much as the top clubs of European football, but their wage bills are increasing as clubs like Inter Miami lure superstars like Lionel Messi to the United States.
But where do Inter Miami rank in terms of wage bills in the 2025 MLS season?
Unsurprisingly, the club that employs Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets have comfortably the highest wage bill in North American soccer, paying over $18million per year on their array of Champions League-winning royalty.
Messi is the top-paid player in MLS history, which will have played a major role in him leaving European football behind, but he sounds genuinely settled and happy in the city of Miami – unlike his last club PSG.
“The welcome I received was impressive. It’s a city with many Latinos and that’s why everything is easier. Latino people are closer, they show their emotions, they show their feelings,” he said after signing with Inter Miami in 2023.
“That care, closeness, that’s the most important thing. It’s very healthy and that helps you to accommodate yourself and to do a good job.
“I’ve been here on vacations, I knew it. I knew what the city was all about, the people, and I already liked it. Now live it every day here.”
According to industry estimates, Inter Miami’s wage bill is more than double five of the other 29 clubs in MLS.
It’s over €1million that the next top spenders, Toronto FC, with the likes of LA Galaxy, Nashville SC, New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps also breaking the €14million barrier.
The lowest wage spenders in the MLS 2024 season are San Diego FC, who were founded in 2023. Their wage bill is currently just $1.1million.
Still, MLS clubs’ wage bills are small potatoes when you compare it to the lens of elite European football.
Top European players like Kylian Mbappe, Frenkie de Jong, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Kevin De Bruyne are believed to earn more alone than entire MLS squads put together.
READ NEXT: 5 players who fell off the footballing map after moving to the MLS
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the top 30 goalscorers in Major League Soccer history?
Here’s every MLS club from the 2024 season ranked by their annual wage bill. The estimates come from Capology:
1. Inter Miami – $18,435,408 (€17,679,556, £15,055,606)
2. Toronto FC – $17,293,691 (€16,584,649, £15,055,606)
3. LA Galaxy – $16,249,794 (€15,583,552, £6,361,869)
4. Nashville SC – $15,484,766 (€14849,890, £10,904,957)
5. New York Red Bulls – $14,209,851 (€ 7,126,561, £ 6,133,092)
6. Vancouver Whitecaps – $14,167,532 (€13,627,247, £ 6,361,869)
7. FC Cincinnati – $13,417,757 (€12,867,628, £ 6,760,399)
8. LAFC – $13,121,899 (€12,583,901, £ 6,694,835)
9. St. Louis – $13,082,924 (€12,546,524, £ 6,911,682)
10. Columbus Crew – $12,941,639 (€12,411,031, £ 9,199,806)
11. Seattle Sounders – $12,356,243 (€11,849,637, £ 9,829,068)
12. Atlanta Utd – $12,059,311 (€11,564,879, £ 8,886,588)
13. Portland Timbers – $11,961,648 (€11,471,220, £ 6,412,433)
14. FC Dallas – $11,936,218 (€11,446,883, £ 7,813,419)
15. Orlando City – $11,885,478 (€11,398,173, £ 4,753,407)
16. Colorado Rapids – $11,717,036 (€11,226,637, £ 5,679,175)
17. Real Salt Lake – $11,591,464 (€11,116,213, £ 6,683,824)
18. NYCFC – $11,581,838 (€11,106,982, £ 7,700,095)
19. Minnesota Utd – $11,468,638 (€10,998,423, £ 8,576,161)
20. Houston Dynamo – $11,301,907 (€10,838,528, £ 9,528,491)
21. Charlotte FC – $11,183,103 (€10,724,595, £ 5,503,596)
22. Austin FC – $10,536,226 (€10,104,470, £ 9,657,951)
23. Chicago Fire – $10,433,847 (€10,006,059, £ 11,684,685)
24. Philadelphia Union – $10,052,834 (€9,640,667, £ 8,614,144)
25. San Jose Earthquakes – $9,117,036 (€8,743,237, £ 5,924,238)
26. New England Revolution – $8,880,984 (€8,516,863, £ 9,387,536)
27. Sporting Kansas City – $8,660,036 (€8,304,974, £ 10,101,691)
28. D.C. United – $8,364,379 (€8,021,439, £ 9,585,215)
29. CF Montreal – $4,530,437 (€4,344,689, £ 9,585,215)
30. San Diego FC – $1,115,000 (€1,069,285, £ 9,585,215)