:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69280648/usa_today_15975455.0.jpg)
It’s that wonderfully awkward time of the season when the MLS Players Association releases salaries for every player in the league. For us amateur Technical Directors on the interwebz it’s always an interesting day to go through and see exactly how the Atlanta United technical staff has assembled the roster from a financial standpoint.
Atlanta United have the fourth highest overall wage bill in all of MLS, according to the MLSPA salary guide.
FC Cincinnati has the 5th highest wage bill
— L W Johnson (@HelltownBeer) May 13, 2021
Millions : Team
$17.8 : Inter Miami
$17.0 : Toronto FC
$16.8 : LA Galaxy
$16.2 : Atlanta United
$15.5 : FC Cincinnati
It should come as no surprise that the highest paid player for the Five Stripes is former MVP and Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez. His five-year contract extension, which he signed in early 2019, earns him a robust guaranteed yearly salary of $3.89 million. This figure makes him fifth highest paid player in MLS.
Perhaps way more surprising is who the team’s second highest guaranteed salary goes to. That distinction goes to non-Designated Player Jurgen Damm who rakes in $1.58 million in 2021. While it’s still early in his Atlanta United career, it’s clear that the production to compensation ratio leaves a lot to be desired in his case.
Brad Guzan holds the title of being the highest paid goalkeeper in MLS with a $805,000 salary this season. Dutch disappointment Kenneth Vermeer is comically the second highest paid behind Guzan at $750,000, while the extremely talented Andre Blake takes up third with $600,000.
Two interesting figures to look at are Marcelino Moreno and Alan Franco’s. Both players were tagged as DPs coming into the league. However, both boast relatively manageable salaries, leading one to believe that a DP spot could be opened up under the right circumstances.
Below is a table of every Atlanta United salary for 2021 sorted from highest guaranteed compensation to lowest.
Atlanta United 2021 Salaries
| First Name | Last Name | Club | Position(s) | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Last Name | Club | Position(s) | Base Salary | Guaranteed Compensation |
| Josef | Martinez | Atlanta United | F | $3,500,000.00 | $3,891,667.00 |
| Jurgen | Damm | Atlanta United | M | $1,290,000.00 | $1,582,509.00 |
| Ezequiel | Barco | Atlanta United | M | $1,425,000.00 | $1,425,000.00 |
| Fernando | Meza | Atlanta United | D | $975,000.00 | $975,000.00 |
| Emerson | Hyndman | Atlanta United | M | $900,000.00 | $900,000.00 |
| Brad | Guzan | Atlanta United | GK | $805,000.00 | $805,000.00 |
| Miles | Robinson | Atlanta United | D | $650,000.00 | $687,500.00 |
| Matheus | Rossetto | Atlanta United | M | $550,000.00 | $662,500.00 |
| Erik | Lopez Samaniego | Atlanta United | F | $340,000.00 | $508,300.00 |
| Alan | Franco | Atlanta United | D | $378,000.00 | $505,500.00 |
| Santiago | Sosa | Atlanta United | M | $385,000.00 | $503,100.00 |
| Franco | Escobar | Atlanta United | D | $450,000.00 | $450,000.00 |
| Marcelino | Moreno | Atlanta United | M | $400,000.00 | $400,000.00 |
| Brooks | Lennon | Atlanta United | D | $375,000.00 | $375,000.00 |
| Franco | Ibarra | Atlanta United | D-M | $300,000.00 | $370,000.00 |
| Jake | Mulraney | Atlanta United | M | $275,600.00 | $312,777.00 |
| Anton | Walkes | Atlanta United | D | $250,000.00 | $275,062.00 |
| Ronald | Hernandez | Atlanta United | D | $250,000.00 | $250,000.00 |
| Mohammed "Mo" | Adams | Atlanta United | M | $121,000.00 | $141,000.00 |
| George | Bello | Atlanta United | D | $135,000.00 | $139,000.00 |
| Alec | Kann | Atlanta United | GK | $115,000.00 | $115,000.00 |
| Jack | Gurr | Atlanta United | M | $95,000.00 | $95,000.00 |
| Ben | Lundgaard | Atlanta United | GK | $81,375.00 | $81,375.00 |
| Lisandro | Lopez | Atlanta United | F | $81,375.00 | $81,375.00 |
| Erick | Torres | Atlanta United | F | $81,375.00 | $81,375.00 |
| Mikey | Ambrose | Atlanta United | D | $81,375.00 | $81,375.00 |
| Alex | De John | Atlanta United | D | $81,375.00 | $81,375.00 |
| George | Campbell | Atlanta United | D | $80,000.00 | $80,000.00 |
| Tyler | Wolff | Atlanta United | F-M | $75,000.00 | $79,500.00 |
| Machop | Chol | Atlanta United | M-F | $63,547.00 | $63,547.00 |
| Jackson | Conway | Atlanta United | F | $63,547.00 | $63,547.00 |
| Josh | Bauer | Atlanta United | D | $63,547.00 | $63,547.00 |
| Efrain | Morales | Atlanta United | D | $63,547.00 | $63,547.00 |