UPDATE: Check out the 2023 player salaries here.
If you are into the dollars and cents of Austin FC, feast your eyes on the 2022 player salaries provided by Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).
The payroll data includes base salary and guaranteed compensation, but not performance bonuses or club transfer fees, for Major League Soccer (MLS) players under contract with ATXFC as of April 15, 2022.
For comparison purposes, the average base salary for a senior roster non-DP player in the salary-capped league is $438,728 in 2022. If want to go down the rabbit hole, view the entire MLSPA compensation database of all 841 players under contract with MLS.
Salaries for new Austin FC Players in 2022
In the offseason leading up to 2022, there was plenty of roster turnover.
Austin FC declined the contract or waived seven players. (Jared Stroud was re-signed among this group.) Matt Besler retired right after the 2021 season ended. And the loan options for Manny Perez and Sebastian Berhalter were not exercised.
In addition, current players saw their wages rise anywhere from $0 to $545,000 in 2022. (Alex Ring received a $500K+ pay raise when he re-signed as a designated player in the offseason.)
To add more depth and talent for a playoff run, Austin’s front office signed two new players during the 2022 summer transfer window:
- Emiliano Rigoni – $2,294,152
- Washington Corozo – $327,500
2022 Austin FC Player Salary Table (by highest guaranteed $)
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian | Driussi | F | $2,200,000 | $2,317,000 |
| Emiliano | Rigoni | M | $1,846,152 | $2,294,152 |
| Alexander | Ring | M | $1,500,000 | $1,640,000 |
| Ruben | Gabrielsen | D | $950,000 | $950,000 |
| Danny | Hoesen | F | $650,000 | $716,667 |
| Maximiliano | Urruti | F | $625,000 | $661,250 |
| Tomas | Pochettino | M | $525,000 | $585,000 |
| Moussa | Djitte | F | $550,000 | $550,000 |
| Diego | Fagundez | M | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Jhohan | Romana | D | $440,000 | $440,000 |
| Rodney | Redes | F | $412,500 | $412,500 |
| Jhojan | Valencia | M | $355,000 | $400,125 |
| Ethan | Finlay | M | $350,000 | $350,000 |
| Nick | Lima | D | $350,000 | $350,000 |
| Julio | Cascante | D | $310,000 | $337,500 |
| Washington | Corozo | F | $300,000 | $327,500 |
| Andrew | Tarbell | GK | $300,000 | $308,333 |
| Zan | Kolmanic | D | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Hector | Jimenez | M | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| Brad | Stuver | GK | $175,000 | $185,000 |
| Jon | Gallagher | F | $155,000 | $155,000 |
| Daniel | Pereira | M | $84,000 | $102,258 |
| Kipp | Keller | D | $84,000 | $96,500 |
| Felipe | Martins | M | $84,000 | $84,000 |
| Jared | Stroud | M | $84,000 | $84,000 |
| Owen | Wolff | M | $65,500 | $78,553 |
| Freddy | Kleeman | D | $66,724 | $66,724 |
| William | Pulisic | GK | $66,724 | $66,724 |
| Carlos | Asensio | D | $65,500 | $65,500 |
| Damian | Las | GK | $65,500 | $65,500 |
| Total | $12,993,448 | $13,754,134 |
Overall, Austin FC’s total guaranteed wage bill increased by about $4.7 million compared to April 2021. A substantial portion of that increase was Driussi’s salary when he was signed during the 2021 summer transfer window, who now looks like a steal when you compare his output in 2022 to the highest-paid footballers in the league (see below).
Of course, we couldn’t help ourselves when looking through the MLSPA salary database to find the most outrageously-paid MLS players.
Top 5 Highest Paid MLS Players in 2022
1. Xherdan Shaqiri – $8.2M
2. Chicharito – $6M
3. Gonzalo Higuain – $5.8M
4. Alejandro Pozuelo – $4.7M
5. Jozy Altidore – $4.3M
We’ll take our highest earner Sebastian Driussi over that lot any day.
Compared to other MLS clubs, Verde & Black ranks 13th in total roster spending.
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