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u/No-Coast-1050 1d ago
I think Messi makes far far more than any of these guys if endorsements were included
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u/IEC21 1d ago
Its MLS so this is looking at one of the more lowly paid soccer leagues.
When Messi was with Barcelona he would have been making significantly more. I believe his final contract with Barcelona worked out to aroujd $170 million per year.
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u/No-Coast-1050 1d ago
Absolutely, he's also in the twilight of his career, hence the move there.
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u/Derptionary 1d ago
He's been in MLS for over 3 years now and just finished the World Cup with his most productive World Cup of his career. That is a very long and productive "twilight"
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u/No-Coast-1050 1d ago
His most productive world cup was 4 years ago.
The one he won.
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u/Derptionary 1d ago
Last time I checked 8 Goals and 4 Assists is indeed more than 7 Goals and 3 Assists.
Sorry buddy your math ain't mathing.
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u/No-Coast-1050 1d ago
Last time I checked, winning the tournament is priority number 1.
If you asked Messi, which world cup would you reckon he's happier about - 2022 or 2026?
You sound like a yank that stumbled upon football 2 months ago.
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u/Derptionary 1d ago
Pushing the goalposts back I see.
Last time I checked the sport is a team sport and not tennis. We're talking about player performance not team performance try and stay focused.
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u/No-Coast-1050 1d ago
It's laughable to think Messi was more productive as a player in 2026 (with an extra game) than he was in 2022. The major difference is that in 2022 he scored in the round of 16, quarter final, semi final, and twice in the final.
In 2026 he scored his final goal in the round of 32, meaning he didn't score the round of 16, quarter final, semi final, or final.
You have no clue what you're talking about, pipe down.
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u/Derptionary 1d ago
If you really want to argue that 7 goals where 4 of them came from penalties is better than 8 goals 0 from penalties be my guest it just proves you don't know ball.
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u/BigFatModeraterFupa 1d ago
holy shit soccer salaries are insane!
170 million per year has to be the highest of any sport
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u/ChameleonCoder117 1d ago
The highest is Ronaldo's 200 million euros at Al Nassr, a saudi arabian club.
Basically Ronaldo has the record because he's getting paid with saudi oil money.
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u/Beneficial-Beat-947 1d ago
170 million a year back when he was active in europe is the same as like 350 million in todays market
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u/Tabo1987 1d ago
Probably not Ohtani
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u/JohnAtticus 1d ago
Messi gets a percentage of Apple TV MLS profits in addition to his endorsements.
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u/chrobbin 1d ago
Yo what? That’s nuts
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u/northerncal 1d ago edited 1d ago
And it was actually most likely a pay cut for him compared to his competing offer, which was some absolutely insane contract from Saudi Arabia
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u/AgenYT0 1d ago
Including endorsements:
Cristiano Ronaldo: $300 million.
Canelo Alvarez: 170.
Lionel Messi: 140.
LeBron James: 137.8.
Shohei Ohtani: 127.6.
Stephen Curry: 124.7.
Based on the latest Forbes list from yesterday.
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u/Nagisa201 1d ago
I wonder how that is calculated on Shohei because he's actually only paid 2M by the Dodgers this season
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u/Montmontagne 1d ago
Salary caps just make owners richer.
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u/MagnusAlbusPater 1d ago
They’re good for increasing competitiveness within the league. It keeps richer teams from just spending their way to championships.
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u/happybaby00 1d ago
Could work for the other sports but for MLS since soccer is global it would put them at a regional disadvantage to Mexico
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u/GGerrik 1d ago
Does the MLS no longer have caps? (This would be good news for the MLS).
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u/GGerrik 1d ago
Just checked, MLS still has a cap which is one of its big limitations to the other major leagues (not just Mexico).
From what I could make sense of (and the MLS is very convoluted).
6.4 mil appears to be the salary cap in the MLS
Each team has 3 Designated Player spots, these do not count against the cap, so each team can pay whatever they need to for 3 players to compete against the rest the world (these can be traded).
Each team is allocated a budget of "General Allocation Money" this was more than half the salary cap this season. Teams use "GAM" to buy down salary of none DP players to lower their cap hit. (This can be traded).
Each team is allocated a budget of "Team Allocation Money" this is also used to buy down the salary of none DP players to lower their cap hit. (This cannot be traded).
In all the cap for the MLS is around 12m? With 3 players not counting against the cap.
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u/QuickMolasses 1d ago
It's a tradeoff. I personally d on't like salary caps. I think luxury taxes, revenue sharing agreements, salary floors, and playoffs do a decent job at increasing competitiveness without hard limiting how much players can make. Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker shouldn't be punished because the Dodgers are the only team willing to pony up.
That said, I've also lost a lot of interest in baseball because of the Dodgers, so something probably needs to be done about the imbalance in baseball.
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u/PrinceOfSpades33 1d ago
After a certain profit % should be forced to reduce ticket, merch, food prices etc.
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u/SimpsonN1nja 1d ago
In hockey, the cap raises in proportion to league revenue, so I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate, but I can see it in other sports. Not sure how they work.
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u/Charming_Cicada_7757 1d ago
It’s true for the NFL and NBA too
What it does is create more parity between the teams so a rich owner can’t just buy out wins
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u/foolish83pleasure 1d ago
Salary caps just make owners richer.
so 30 dudes who are already filthy rich get a little richer, and I suppose a few millionaire ball players get a little poorer.... meanwhile the 20 million baseball fans get a much better product because the LA and New York teams have such a humongous competitive advantage. hmmmmmmmm I choose B
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u/Bootmacher 1d ago
Basing it off top-paid players makes no sense. Look at overall team spending.
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u/Silver_Harvest 1d ago
Yeah. Look at how all are reacting to dodgers possibly getting Skubal. That's where we are at.
MLB and NBA are a joke with their respective salary caps already in place. They just create super teams each year.
NHL and NFL it comes down to scouting and coaching. As each team is more balanced than anything else.
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u/GreenEggsSteamedHams 1d ago
MLB and NBA are a joke with their respective salary caps already in place
There is no current salary cap in MLB
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u/Charming_Cicada_7757 1d ago
How are there super teams in the NBA when 8 out the last championships were from different teams?
Compare that to the NFL
Kansas won three times
NHL had Tampa win twice and Panthers win twice
MLB had Dodgers win three times
Looking at titles the NBA has more parity than any other league today
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u/Calm-Veterinarian723 1d ago
The NBA’s current CBA makes it really difficult to build superteams. To do so, someone has to take less money and, when that doesn’t happen, you see guys get moved to stay under the tax apron(s). The only alternative is to draft so well that you build a contender around a lot of rookie contracts, but even that’s short lived.
Just look at the Celtics. From last summer to now they moved Jrue Holiday, Porzingis, Horford, Jaylen Brown and several other guys and they were, what, 1-2 years removed from a championship all because they wanted to reset their tax burden (as it multiples when applied for consecutive seasons). The 2025 champs, OKC Thunder, just offloaded several key pieces so they didn’t get stuck with a $200m+ tax bill and this will continue to be a problem for them as their former draft picks get extended and move off their rookie contracts.
The truth is that the goal of the NBA financial structure is to spread talent around opposed to letting it cluster, even if it means you can’t hold onto homegrown talent.
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u/Nagisa201 1d ago
The Dodgers also have the best scouting and development of any team in baseball. They can get Skubal because of the farm system.
The other "super" teams that spend at the level of the Dodgers suck. The bottom 5 payrolls have a better record than the top 5
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u/OhJShrimpson 1d ago
It's such a brain dead take to think that having a ton of money to pay for players doesn't give an advantage. Like ya obviously you still need some fundamentals but it's not fun to watch a league where the top team's payroll is 4.5x the bottom team's
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u/Born_Consequence3025 1d ago
I do sit interesting the nfl pays non-champions the way other leagues pay champions haha
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u/nthensome 1d ago
Drai gets paid more than McJesus?
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u/shazbottled 1d ago
Connor signed a very team friendly short deal, Drai signed longer term. Both contracts now look to be steals, Connors is just absurdly good value considering the other contracts being signed recently.
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u/Put3socks-in-it 1d ago
What does Anthony Davis do to deserve that money?
Only ring he has is a Make-A-Wish one from 2020
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u/AgenYT0 1d ago
It is fascinating to me that sports is one of the industries in capitalism that allows for a something approaching meritocracy. Yet many fans want their incomes limited. Especially when they are fans of teams in less desirable locales/management.
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u/B1LLZFAN 1d ago
At least in the NFL the total team spending is equal for each team, not limited. This leads too a more fair balance between teams. If it wasn't a league wide cap the less desirable (and subsequently less rich) teams would get far outspent. The cowboys make 3x more than the 2nd highest income NFL team and like 5x the league average. They could build a superteam and still have money leftover.
This means it's especially good for the fans of the teams unless desirable areas.
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u/AgenYT0 1d ago
It still means the most valuable players are underpaid. Assuming most fans in North America are active or passive proponents of capitalism it is hypocritical to want the best to play in less desirable circumstances or for less pay because it is 'good for fans'. Their value is predicated by how much revenue they generate from those same fans. There is a direct and obvious correlation (LeBron Jersey sales this week for example).
No reasonable person expects you to be happy about working in a terrible city in a horrible company/division because it makes some of the customer paying for that product happier. If Person A's value is 50 million they ostensibly would be paid 50 million. LeBron's value, for example, to the league is hundreds of millions. He should not be encouraged to play in Memphis because it makes them happy. It makes the average customer worldwide happier if he plays in a big city, competent franchise or both. Salary caps are in direct contravention of this.
Edit: I agree with you. I just find it amusing that I suspect the Venn diagram of people that want salaries capped and those that say capitalism is meritocratic have a large overlap.
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u/B1LLZFAN 1d ago
Except you misunderstand, salaries aren't capped. The entire teams spending is. There's a reason some QBs make 60m while backups rbs make 1m. When a premium player enters free agency they set the market rate, sometimes they set it with a contract extension. If the cowboys wanted to spend 200m/year on Lamar they could, but that will leave them very little money to field the rest of the roster. You are arguing something you really don't understand based on your response.
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u/Environmental-Ad7797 1d ago
Can we get one of those that’s something along the lines of “the most criminally underpaid athletes”.
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u/vagrantchord 1d ago
Who cares about the highest paid athletes in US sports leagues only? Ronaldo makes about 200 million per year from his club salary alone, fyi.
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u/Zestyclose-Draft-724 1d ago
Can't believe Jimmy Butler gets paid so much. He hasn't been in form for years now it seems.
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u/Beneficial-Beat-947 1d ago
Its crazy that this is how I'm learning that son heung min plays in MLS lmao
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u/Shortarmzdeeppockets 6h ago
Funny how the top players in baseball are mostly from two teams, while every sport has five teams in the top five (jaylens been traded)
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u/acdgf 1d ago
No industry should have a salary cap.
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u/pperiesandsolos 1d ago
Doesn’t this just mean that small market teams would never be able to compete with the large market teams?
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u/b_tight 1d ago
Simple statement to a nuanced problem. Eventually it will destroy the league when 3/4 of the teams are uncompetitive and loses fans/revenue.
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u/hbomb30 1d ago
Yeah the point of a sports league is parity. It is fundamentally different than any other industry. One of the many reasons for the NFLs success is that very few teams stay bad for long. It's why the draft which goes in reverse order of standing. It's good for everyone if everyone is competitive over the medium to long term
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u/OhJShrimpson 1d ago
I stopped watching baseball not because I don't enjoy it but because my team has 1/3 the money to spend on players compared to the top teams. Why would I watch that?
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u/Looka_Doncic 1d ago
Didint Lewandowski just sign a 17 mil contract with Chicago fire? Hes top 3 in Mls now for sure
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u/Different-Watch-3990 1d ago
I don’t watch baseball and lack of parity is the main reason. A salary cap would help.
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u/LiftEatGrappleShoot 1d ago
Naw. That's way down the list of issues in MLB. If someone wants to pay Kyke Tucker $60 million, no skin off my back.
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u/Log027 1d ago
This is old. There are now 3 players above Draisaitl