MLS salaries updated: Is it better to have one Insigne or an entire Philadelphia Union?

After a big summer window in Major League Soccer that saw the arrivals of household names like Lorenzo Insigne, Gareth Bale and Héctor Herrera, an updated list of the MLS highest paid players 2022 has been released by the Players Association.

When this information was last disclosed, Xherdan Shaqiri was at the top of the list after arriving in Chicago from Lyon on a three-year deal that paid him over $8 million guaranteed. He's fallen to second after the arrival of Insigne in Toronto from Napoli. The Italian signed a four-year contract at $14 million guaranteed. 

It's also interesting to look at the highest and lowest team spending in 2022. TFC tops the list after the late arrivals of Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Domenico Criscito and Mark-Anthony Kaye, but they failed to make the playoffs and lost the Canadian Championship.

At the other end of the spectrum, the New York Red Bulls spent less than $10 million overall and hosted a playoff match as the East's No. 4 seed. The second smallest spend was Philadelphia at $10.3 million and the Union won the Eastern Conference. Dániel Gazdag scored 22 goals, provided six assists and makes only $586,250. 

The league's growing financial might is clear in an average salary that's risen from $413,998 to $514,729 in a year. Expect a big shakeup in the top earners next year with Gonzalo Higuaín retiring and veterans like Alejandro Pozuelo, Jozy Altidore, Rodolfo Pizarro, Franco Jara and Victor Wanyama reaching the ends of their contracts.    

MLS Highest Paid Players 2022

1. Lorenzo Insigne — $14,000,000 (Toronto FC)
2. Xherdan Shaqiri — $8,153,000 (Chicago Fire)
3. Javier "Chicharito" Hernández — $7,443,750 (LA Galaxy)
4. Federico Bernardeschi — $6,256,322 (Toronto FC)
5. Douglas Costa — $5,800,000 (LA Galaxy)
6. Gonzalo Higuaín — $5,793,750 (Inter Miami)
7. Héctor Herrera — $5,246,875 (Houston Dynamo)
8. Alejandro Pozuelo — $4,693,000 (Inter Miami)
9. Luiz Araújo — $4,480,333 (Atlanta United)
10. Jozy Altidore — $4,264,963 (New England Revolution)
11. Christian Benteke — $4,182,778 (D.C. United)
12. Josef Martínez — $4,141,667 (Atlanta United)
13. Lucas Zelarayán — $3,700,000 (Columbus Crew)
14. Carles Gil — $3,545,833 (New England Revolution)
15. Rodolfo Pizarro — $3,350,000 (Inter Miami)
16. Nicolás Lodeiro — $3,256,667 (Seattle Sounders)
17. Franco Jara — $3,227,000 (FC Dallas)
18. Raúl Ruidíaz — $3,201,120 (Seattle Sounders)
19. Victor Wanyama — $3,091,667 (CF Montreal)
20. Cucho Hernández — $2,886,000 (Columbus Crew) 
21. Carlos Vela — $2,737,500 (LAFC)
22. Gustavo Bou — $2,675,000 (New England Revolution)
23. Gareth Bale — $2,386,667 (LAFC)
24. Gastón Giménez — $2,360,667 (Chicago Fire) 
25. Walker Zimmerman — $2,345,214 (Nashville SC) 

Highest MLS Team Spending 2022 

1. Toronto FC — $32,234,728
2. LA Galaxy — $27,303,314
3. Inter Miami — $24,194,278
4. Atlanta United — $22,431,357
5. Chicago Fire — $19,355,763
6. LAFC — $19,001,888
7. New England Revolution — $18,584,553
8. Columbus Crew — $17,892,808
9. Seattle Sounders — $16,983,746
10. Houston Dynamo — $16,867,485
11. New York City FC — $16,504,148
12. D.C. United — $16,282,352
13. FC Cincinnati — $16,281,087
14. FC Dallas — $15,761,683
15. Vancouver Whitecaps — $14,897,149
16. Sporting Kansas City — $14,736,204
17. Austin FC — $14,639,786
18. Real Salt Lake — $14,609,198
19. Nashville SC — $14,145,780
20. CF Montreal — $13,059,176
21. Orlando City — $11,956,012
22. Charlotte FC — $11,661,661
23. Portland Timbers — $11,377,505
24. Minnesota United — $11,157,156
25. San Jose Earthquakes — $10,702,272
26. Colorado Rapids — $10,570,955
27. Philadelphia Union — $10,360,287
28. New York Red Bulls — $9,642,386