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It’s everyone’s favorite time of year ... the release of Major League Soccer player salaries!
OK, so maybe all of you haven’t been anxiously anticipating this moment, but it’s still an interesting look at the league’s financial ecosystem.
Here’s a list of player salaries for Columbus Crew SC:
2017 Columbus Crew SC Player Salaries
| Club | Last Name | First Name | Pos | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Last Name | First Name | Pos | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
| CLB | Abu | Mohammed | M | $165,000.00 | $171,250.00 |
| CLB | Abubakar | Alhassan "Lalas" | D | $65,000.04 | $72,500.04 |
| CLB | Afful | Harrison | D | $280,000.00 | $296,666.67 |
| CLB | Crognale | Alex | D | $84,996.00 | $84,996.00 |
| CLB | De Lima Junior | Artur | M | $80,004.00 | $99,879.00 |
| CLB | Duka | Dilly | M | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 |
| CLB | Finlay | Ethan | M | $290,000.00 | $290,000.00 |
| CLB | Francis | Waylon | D | $227,500.00 | $251,875.00 |
| CLB | Hansen | Nikolaj | F | $65,000.04 | $72,500.04 |
| CLB | Higuain | Federico | M | $1,050,000.00 | $1,050,000.00 |
| CLB | Hollingsworth | Marshall | M | $54,075.00 | $54,075.00 |
| CLB | Jahn | Adam | F | $92,500.00 | $92,500.00 |
| CLB | Jimenez | Hector | M | $150,000.00 | $150,000.00 |
| CLB | Kamara | Ola | F | $450,000.00 | $482,500.00 |
| CLB | Ketterer | Logan | GK | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| CLB | Maloney | Connor | D | $53,004.00 | $53,004.00 |
| CLB | Manneh | Kekuta | M-F | $138,875.00 | $168,375.00 |
| CLB | Martinez | Cristian | M | $65,633.40 | $70,133.40 |
| CLB | Mensah | Jonathan | D | $750,000.00 | $844,000.00 |
| CLB | Meram | Justin | M | $300,000.00 | $328,750.00 |
| CLB | Naess | Nicolai | D | $235,000.00 | $242,500.00 |
| CLB | Obinwa | Abuchi | M | $65,004.00 | $65,004.00 |
| CLB | Raitala | Jukka | D | $125,004.00 | $161,670.67 |
| CLB | Saravia | Rodrigo | M | $65,625.00 | $65,625.00 |
| CLB | Sauro | Gaston | D | $585,000.00 | $601,312.50 |
| CLB | Steffen | Zack | GK | $105,000.00 | $105,000.00 |
| CLB | Stuver | Brad | GK | $80,004.00 | $80,004.00 |
| CLB | Swanson | Ben | M | $85,000.00 | $105,416.67 |
| CLB | Trapp | Wil | M | $300,000.00 | $350,000.00 |
| CLB | Williams | Josh | D | $110,004.00 | $110,004.00 |
Notable observations? Well, start with this:
MLS Salaries are out… and Artur’s guaranteed salary is…
— Patrick Guldan (@GuldanMR) April 25, 2017
wait for it…
$99,879.00.
Obviously the Black & Gold will miss Artur for the next few weeks, but his invaluable contributions thus far have come at, well, quite the value.
As far as other Columbus newcomers, Mohammed Abu has guaranteed compensation of $171,250, while Alex Crognale’s rookie guarantee sits at $84,996.
Compare that to the salary of the player many want to see Crognale permanantly replace, Jonathan Mensah. The designated player is on $844,000, which is second on the team to Federico Higuain. Gaston Sauro, whose injury certainly played a large role in the necessity of Jonathan, is on a salary of $601,312.50 (give the man his 50 cents).
For Crognale, that means he’s making pennies on the dollar compared to most the strikers he is trying to stop make.
Pipa is making $1,050,000, actually a slight pay cut from last year (1,175,000).
Justin Meram’s fruitful contract extension lifted his salary from $185,000 to $328,750, while Wil Trapp’s extension boosted his salary to $350,000 after making $178,250 a year ago.
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Ethan Finlay received a $40k raise, while Hector Jimenez saw his salary jump $45k.
After a breakout first season, Ola Kamara’s salary rose $25k.
Tony Tchani, who was traded for Kekutah Manneh with many citing salary relief as a benefit of the move, is being paid $308,333.33. Manneh is at $168,375, meaning Crew SC shed nearly half of Tchani’s salary in the trade.
Around the league, Kaka remains MLS’ top earner, at $7,167,500.
The rest of the top six, in order, are Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC), David Villa (NYCFC) and Giovanni Dos Santos (LA Galaxy).
Some of those have been better values than others.
Toronto, NYCFC, Orlando, Chicago and LA lead the league in total salary, to no one’s surprise.
The bottom five spenders (from highest to lowest) are New England Revolution, D.C. United, Minnesota United, Montreal Impact and Houston Dynamo.
Columbus is 15th out of 22 teams in total salary, and is 14th in median salary.
Interestingly, two of the lowest total spenders, Minnesota and Houston are first and third in MLS, respectively, in median salary. San Jose Earthquakes are second.
This seems to indicate that depth of mid-level players are not as worthwhile as having some high-end spending.
Another interesting note is that Dallas, one of the best teams over the past few seasons, does not have a single player making seven figures. Colorado, meanwhile, has had one good season but mostly struggled and currently features three players on seven-figure salaries.
To see a complete MLS player salary listing, click HERE.