Luiz Araujo remains Atlanta United’s highest-paid player

Luiz Araujo remains Atlanta United’s highest-paid player by a large margin, according to information provided by the Major League Soccer Players Association on Tuesday.

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Araujo has a guaranteed compensation of $4,483,333. Araujo has two goals and two assists this season and 10 goals and 12 assists in his career with the club.

Thiago Almada has the next highest guaranteed compensation, $2,332,000. Almada has five goals and seven assists this season and 11 goals and 19 assists in his career with the club.

Atlanta United’s total guaranteed compensation was $21,257,396, and its per-player average was $644,136.5. Its total as of September 2022, which was the last time the MLSPA released salaries, was $22,431,357, and it was $20,992,272 in April 2022.

Several players received sizable raises this season compared with what they were paid near the end of last season. Atlanta United President Garth Lagerwey said before the season that the team likely was going to leave two of its 20 senior roster slots open, in part to give the 18 other players more money and in part to make additions within the summer transfer window.

Centerback Miles Robinson’s salary increased by $700,000 to $1,437,500.

Fullback Brooks Lennon’s salary increased by $200,000 to $700,000.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan’s salary increased by $154,284 to $612,500.

Midfielder Matheus Rossetto’s salary increased by $101,875 to $764,375.

There are several players, Ezequiel Barco, Marcelino Moreno and Edwin Mosquera, who are included in the list of salaries, but who aren’t being paid by Atlanta United. Barco is with River Plate and officially will join the Argentinian giants in 2024. Certain triggers included in the loan were hit, resulting in Atlanta United recouping some of its investment, but no longer having the player’s rights or paying his salary. Moreno’s salary is being covered by Brazilian club Coritiba. Mosquera’s salary doesn’t count against the cap because he was an Under-22 Initiative signing. It is being covered by Defensa y Justicia in Argentina.

The MLSPA releases the salary information twice a year.

The annual average guaranteed compensation is for players under contract as of April 30. It includes a player’s base salary and all signing and guaranteed bonuses annualized over the term of the player’s contract, including option years. For example, a player earning an annual base salary of $500,000, whose contract has an initial term of two years with two one-year options and received a $100,000 signing bonus, has an average annual guaranteed compensation of $525,000 (base salary plus signing bonus ($100,000), with the signing bonus divided by the number of years covered by the contract (four).

The average annual guaranteed compensation figure also includes any marketing bonus and any agent’s fees, both annualized over the length of the contract. The figure does not include performance bonuses because there is no guarantee that the player will hit those bonuses. These figures include compensation from each player’s contract with MLS. They do not include any compensation from any contracts with individual teams or their affiliates.

Player/Base salary/Guaranteed compensation/Increase (or decrease) from September 2022

Luiz Araújo/3,600,000/4,483,333/3,000

Thiago Almada/1,650,000/2,332,000/0

Ezequiel Barco/2,200,000/2,200,000/0^

Giorgios Giakoumakis/1,576,636/1,748,728/*

Miles Robinson/1,400,000/1,437,500/700,000

Matheus Rossetto/650,000/764,375/101,875

Brooks Lennon/700,000/700,000/200,000

Luis Abram/556,364/695,977/*

Santiago Sosa/575,000/693,100/50,000

Derrick Etienne Jr./676,250/676,250/*

Marcelino Moreno/520,000/628,333/60,000^