If you are into the dollars and cents of Austin FC, feast your eyes on the 2023 player salaries provided by Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).
The payroll data includes Austin FC base salary and guaranteed compensation, but not performance bonuses or club transfer fees, for MLS players under contract with ATXFC as of April 30, 2023.
The first thing we noticed: Austin FC player salaries vary widely — from $6 million (Sebastian Driussi) to $67,360 (Damian Las). And in case you’re wondering, this season beloved goalkeeper Brad Stuver got a raise for his stellar performance in 2022 between the posts — his guaranteed compensation increased from $185,000 to $430,813 in 2023.
Maybe the best contract deal for Austin FC this season is dynamic midfielder Dani Pereira on a total wage bill of $118,414.
Wages for New Players
In the offseason, there was plenty of roster turnover. The following players were added to the payroll for 2023.
- Gyasi Zardes — $800,000
- Aleksandar Radovanovic — $692,500
- Leo Väisänen — $654,500
- Adam Lundqvist — $397,000
- Amro Tarek — $249,996
- Will Bruin — $200,000
- Matt Bersano — $132,500
- Alfonso Ocampo-Chávez — $83,360
- Sofiana Djeffal — $75,325
- CJ Fodrey — $69,360
TOTAL INCOMING WAGES: $3,354,541
In contrast, Austin FC declined the contract, released, or loaned these players after 2022.
- Ruben Gabrielsen — $950,000
- Danny Hoesen — $716,667
- Moussa Djitté — $600,000
- Tomas Pochettino — $585,000
- Jhohan Romaña — $460,000
- Washington Corozo — $327,500
- Andrew Tarbell — $308,333
- Felipe Martins — $84,000
- Jared Stroud — $84,000
- Freddy Kleeman — $66,724
- Will Pulisic — $66,724
TOTAL OUTGOING WAGES: $4,248,948
Finally, several OG Austin FC players received new contracts in 2023, including Diego Fagundez, Julio Cascante, and most notably, Sebastián Driussi.
2023 Austin FC Player Salaries (by Guaranteed $)
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastián | Driussi | M | $3,800,000 | $6,022,500 |
| Emiliano | Rigoni | F | $1,599,996 | $2,047,996 |
| Alexander | Ring | M | $1,500,000 | $1,640,000 |
| Diego | Fagundez | F | $1,000,000 | $1,060,000 |
| Gyasi | Zardes | F | $800,000 | $800,000 |
| Maximiliano | Urruti | F | $700,000 | $736,250 |
| Julio | Cascante | D | $620,000 | $693,750 |
| Aleksandar | Radovanovic | D | $600,000 | $692,500 |
| Leo | Väisänen | D | $600,000 | $654,500 |
| Jhojan | Valencia | D | $400,000 | $445,125 |
| Rodney | Redes | F | $440,000 | $440,000 |
| Brad | Stuver | GK | $408,000 | $430,813 |
| Ethan | Finlay | M | $425,000 | $425,000 |
| Adam | Lundqvist | D | $350,000 | $397,500 |
| Nick | Lima | D | $375,000 | $375,000 |
| Zan | Kolmanic | D | $325,000 | $325,000 |
| Jon | Gallagher | F | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Amro | Tarek | D | $249,996 | $249,996 |
| Will | Bruin | F | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| Matt | Bersano | GK | $125,000 | $132,500 |
| Daniel | Pereira | M | $100,000 | $118,414 |
| Owen | Wolff | M | $100,000 | $113,053 |
| Kipp | Keller | D | $100,000 | $112,500 |
| Héctor | Jiménez | D | $85,444 | $85,444 |
| Alfonso | Ocampo-Chávez | F | $67,360 | $83,360 |
| Sofiane | Djeffal | M | $75,325 | $75,325 |
| CJ | Fodrey | F | $67,360 | $69,360 |
| Charlie | Asensio | D | $68,775 | $68,775 |
| Damian | Las | GK | $67,360 | $67,360 |
| Total | $15,549,616 | $18,862,021 |
Austin FC’s Driussi Ranks in Top 5 Highest Paid MLS Players
Remember those days when we scoffed at teams that paid exorbitant amounts for “star” players. In 2023, you can count Driussi Dior among that top 5.
1. Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire) – $8.2M
2. Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC) – $7.5M
3. Chicharito (LA Galaxy) – $7.4M
4. Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC) – $6.3M
5. Sebastian Driussi (Austin FC) – $6.0M
Highest Total Wages among MLS Clubs
Compared to other MLS clubs, the Verde & Black rank 5th ($19.9 million) in total MLS roster spending in 2023. Austin jumped 8 spots from 13th in 2022. (Note: Our total wage bill calculation in the above table is $18.9 because we excluded loaned players Djitte and Romana.)
Austin FC’s total guaranteed wage bill increased by about $5.1 million from 2022. A substantial portion of that increase was due to Austin FC renegotiating Driussi’s contract, increasing his paycheck by $3.7 million to keep him at the club.
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