The MLSPA released the full list of player salaries for this season, though two key Fire players were missing from the list.
As they do every spring, the MLS Players Association announced the list of player salaries for this season. That includes the entire Fire roster, except for Jairo Torres and Chris Mueller who joined the roster after the cutoff of April 15th to be on the list. There are a few takeaways from this list that are worth mentioning.
The Total Spend
The Fire roster has a total guaranteed compensation of $17,645,464, not including Torres and Mueller. This is the fifth-highest in the league, just trailing Atlanta, LA Galaxy, Miami, and New England. Last season’s payroll was around 13 million, making the Fire’s the biggest spike in the league, and the increase can be credited to a certain Swiss DP…
Xherdan Shaqiri
Shaqiri arrived for a fee of $7.7 million in the winter, and now we learn how big his contract is that lured him to Major League Soccer. He is earning a base salary of $7,350,000, but with a guaranteed compensation of $8,153,000. This makes him the top earner in the league, at least until Lorenzo Insigne joins Toronto over the summer. While Shaqiri hasn’t lived up to his price tag just yet, there is still plenty of time this season for his world-class talent to shine through.
Pay Raises
Numerous players received pay raises this season. Miguel Ángel Navarro, Wyatt Omsberg, Brian Gutiérrez, Gaga Slonina, and Mauricio Pineda received well-earned increases, backed up by strong starts to this season. Some increases are a little more puzzling; Carlos Terán will receive $50,000 more than last season, and Jhon Espinoza’s salary increased by $54,000. Meanwhile, Boris Sekulić is a good right back, but he’s not a $668,900-per-year right back. Stanislav Ivanov also jumped to $359,000 annually.
2022 Arrivals
While Jairo Torres and Chris Mueller weren’t included in the original list, the other new signings were. Kacper Przybyłko, who has struggled with injuries and form since arriving in Chicago, is on just over $1 million, which makes him the second-highest-paid non-DP on the roster. He is only beat out by Rafael Czichos, on $1.3 million, which seems like a fair price given his influence as a leader, and he is one of the highest-paid center backs in the league. The other new arrival, Jhon Durán, has a guaranteed compensation of 167K, which also seems like a good price given his potential upside.
Biggest Bargain
Fede Navarro is one player who jumps off the page as being the best value-for-money player on the roster. He has been a reliable core player since arriving at the Fire last summer, and at $277,504, there isn’t much to complain about. Compared to some of the other contracts handed out by the Fire over the past three seasons, this is a good value.
Full List of 2022 Chicago Fire Salaries (with 2021 for comparison)
*Chris Brady recently signed a contract extension, which may include a rise in his salary.
**Kacper Przybylko and Spencer Richey both played for different MLS teams last season, but their 2021 salaries were still included here for comparison.
***Jairo Torres and Chris Mueller were signed after the April 15th cutoff, so they were not included in this list. The homegrown signing of Justin Reynolds was also after the cutoff.