You couldn’t choose a better day than today—Valentine’s Day—for Austin FC and their star player Sebastián Driussi to get hitched.
It became official on Tuesday morning when the pair agreed to a new multi-year contract that includes three guaranteed years through the end of the 2025 season, with an option for 2026.
Early this offseason, we all cursed under our breath when we heard the rumor about Sebastián Driussi potentially leaving for the Premier League. That’s when The Golazo! Show host Nico Cantor reported that three Premier League clubs, including Leeds United, were vying for his services.
In our gut, we knew this was true. (And at the press conference at Q2 Stadium where it was confirmed that a UK club made him a significant offer.)
After all, Driussi had an undeniable breakout year in his first full season in MLS. His 22 goals and 29 goal contributions during the 2022 regular season ranked second and third most in the league, respectively. He added three goals in three MLS Cup Playoff matches, to lead the Verde & Black to the Western Conference Final.
Things looked grim that he might leave.
Then on February 13, a glorious tweet unfurled on our timeline from the beautiful Italian soccer know-it-all, Fabrizio Romano.
Besides the date of the new deal, the part of Romano’s tweet that really caught our attention was that the “Proposal would make Driussi one of the highest paid players in MLS.”
We know from the MLSPA that Driussi cleared $2.3 million in guaranteed compensation in 2022. To be one of the highest paid in MLS, the 27-year-old Argentine will likely get a payday of approximately $3 to $5 million annually with his new multi-year contract. The actual terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Don’t get it twisted, the contract extension only adds one more year to the current one—2025 instead of 2024. The new deal is about compensating Driussi just enough to keep those clubs from England at bay for a little longer.
But if No. 10 has another stellar season in 2023, Austin may not be able to compete with an $8-10 million offer.
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A Happy Ending
For now, EL CRACK is Verde.
Today we witnessed a special moment in Austin FC history—an Argentine game-changer wearing No. 10 that chose to stay in ATX and play in MLS.
