Josef Martinez remains Atlanta United’s highest-paid player, with annual guaranteed compensation of $4,141,667, according to information provided by the Major League Soccer Players Association on Tuesday. The salaries are accurate as of April 15.
Martinez has the sixth-highest salary in the league. He received a five-year contract extension after winning the MLS MVP award following the 2018 season. Martinez has scored 41 goals in 59 league appearances since the 2019 season.
Atlanta United’s total guaranteed compensation for 34 players is $20,992,272. The MLSPA releases the salary information twice a year. The team’s average compensation for the beginning of the 2022 season is $617,626. The team’s total guaranteed compensation for the 2021 season was $20,058,025, and its average was $607,818.94.
Luiz Araujo is the team’s second-highest-paid player, with guaranteed compensation of $3,941,667. His is the eighth-highest salary in the league. He was the team’s highest-paid player when the information previously was released in October. Araujo has six goals and five assists in 21 appearances since joining the club from Lille last summer.
Araujo is followed by Thiago Almada ($2,332,000), who has two goals and two assists in nine league appearances, and Ezequiel Barco ($2.2 million), who had 17 goals and 17 assists in 81 league appearances and is on loan to River Plate this season, and Miles Robinson ($737,500). Regarding Barco, the information from MLSPA reflects salary owed but does not designate what percentage is paid by the parent club and what percentage is paid by the loanee club. Neither Atlanta United nor River Plate has revealed those percentages.
The league’s highest-paid players are:
Chicago’s Xherdan Shaqiri, $8,153,000
L.A. Galaxy’s Javier Hernandez, $6,000,000
Miami’s Gonzalo Higuain, $5,793,750
Toronto’s Alejandro Pozuelo, $4,693,000
New England’s Jozy Altidore, $4,264,963
Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez, $4,141,667
LAFC’s Carlos Vela, $4,050,000
Atlanta United’s Luiz Araujo, $3,941,667
Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayan, $3,700,000
New England’s Carles Gil, $3,545,833
Miami’s Rodolfo Pizarro, $3,350,000
Seattle’s Nico Lodeiro, $3,256,667
Dallas’ Franco Jara, $3,227,000
Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz, $3,201,120
L.A. Galaxy’s Douglas Costa, $3,000,000
The league’s total in guaranteed compensation for 840 players is $396,958,992. Its average is $472,008. That total and average includes salaries of players whose contracts were bought, such as former Atlanta United player Jurgen Damm, who has a salary of $1,613,509.
The annual average guaranteed compensation 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.
Atlanta United’s salaries
| Last name | First name | Pos. | 2022 Base Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almada | Thiago | M-F | $1,650,000 |
| Alonso | Osvaldo | M | $84,000 |
| Ambrose | Mikey | D | $85,444 |
| Araujo | Luiz | F-M | $3,600,000 |
| Barco | Ezequiel | M | $2,200,000 |
| Campbell | George | D | $98,000 |
| Castanheira | Dylan | G | $85,444 |
| Centeno | Erik | D | $65,500 |
| Chol | Machop | M | $65,500 |
| Cisneros | Ronaldo | F | $244,000 |
| Conway | Jackson | F | $84,000 |
| De John | Alex | F | $85,444 |
| Dwyer | Dom | F | $84,000 |
| Franco | Alan | D | $540,000 |
| Garces | Justin | G | $65,500 |
| Gutman | Andrew | D | $300,000 |
| Guzan | Brad | G | $445,716 |
| Hernandez | Ronald | D | $300,000 |
| Hyndman | Emerson | M | $657,143 |
| Ibarra | Franco | M | $450,000 |
| Lennon | Brooks | D | $500,000 |
| Lopez | Erik | F | $360,000 |
| Martinez | Josef | F | $3,750,000 |
| Morales | Efrain | D | $65,500 |
| Moreno | Marcelino | F-M | $460,000 |
| Mulraney | Jake | M | $301,600 |
| Robinson | Miles | D | $700,000 |
| Rossetto | Matheus | M | $550,000 |
| Sejdic | Amar | M | $85,444 |
| Shuttleworth | Bobby | G | $125,000 |
| Sosa | Santiago | M | $525,000 |
| Washington | Bryce | D | $65,500 |
| Wiley | Caleb | D | $65,500 |
| Wolff | Tyler | F-M | $110,000 |
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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule
Feb. 27 Atlanta United 3, Sporting KC 1
March 5 Colorado 3, Atlanta United 0
March 13 Atlanta United 2, Charlotte 1
March 19 Atlanta United 3, Montreal 3
April 2 Atlanta United 1, D.C. United 0
April 10 Charlotte 1, Atlanta United 0
April 16 Atlanta United 0, Cincinnati 0
April 24 Miami 2, Atlanta United 1
April 30 Montreal 2, Atlanta United 1
May 7 Atlanta United 4, Chicago 1
May 15 Atlanta United 2, New England 2
May 21 at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. FOX
May 28 vs. Columbus Crew, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 19 vs. Miami, 3 p.m., ESPN2
June 25 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 30 at New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 3 at NYCFC, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 9 vs. Austin, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 13 vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 17 vs. Orlando, 3 p.m., ABC
July 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 9:30 p.m., FS1
July 30 at Chicago, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 6 vs. Seattle, 3 p.m., ABC
Aug. 13 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 17 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 21 at Columbus, 6 p.m., FS1
Aug. 28 vs. D.C. United, 4 p.m., UNIV
Aug. 31 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m., FS1
Sept. 4 at Portland, 5:30 p.m., FOX
Sept. 10 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 14 at Orlando, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 17 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 1 at New England, 1 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 9 vs. NYCFC, TBD, BSSO/BSSE
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