Earlier this week, the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) released their first salary guide for the 2026 season. These salary releases usually arrive twice each season in May and October, so the first release gives us a look at the Columbus Crew’s offseason maneuvering.
The chart below shows the current Crew roster as of April 16, 2026. The base salary number represents each player’s yearly contract, while the total compensation (also called guaranteed compensation) reflects an average of bonuses possible throughout the life of the contract. The numbers present in this salary don’t necessarily reflect the actual salary cap hit or Designated Player (DP)/Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) qualifications of the players and also do not include transfer fees (which are taken into account for MLS salary cap compliance). Additionally, U22 Initiative signings and homegrown players earn a salary that is not reflected in their budget charge.
Once again we have included roster designations in the chart below. Those designations can also be found in the MLS Roster Profile release from earlier this season.
For the chart below, acquisitions are in bold and players with raises are bolded and italicized.
As always, these salaries might not be 100 percent accurate. Players may have various bonus structures or marketing agreements that are not represented in the MLSPA’s release.
The first call-out in the 2026 salaries is that many players received incremental bumps. We won’t cover those smaller bumps here but you can compare them with the 2025 release in the above link.
In total, the Columbus’s total base salary spend is $18,919,121 while their total compensation is $22,338,020. This represents a $3,000,000 increase in total compensation from the October 2025 release and a nearly $6,000,000 increase in total compensation from this same time in the at the start of the 2025 MLS season.
New Acquisitions
The Black & Gold made nine acquisitions this offseason, adding some fresh faces to the team and contributing to the increase in salary spend. Before we touch on this season’s new players let’s look back to the two transfers from the summer window of 2025.
Designated Player Wessam Abou Ali, who is sadly out for the season with an injury, was the splashy addition in the post Cucho Hernandez era, joining the Crew from Al Ahly for a reported transfer fee north of $7.5 million. For the 2026 season, Abou Ali will earn $2,775,000 in base salary and $3,611,750 in total compensation making him the highest paid player on the team.
U22 Initiative signing Hugo Picard also joined in 2025 and will earn $725,000 in base salary and $781,244 in total compensation during the 2026 season. Remember, as a U22 Initiative player Picard’s actual salary cap charge will be less than his pay.
Former Everton midfielder André Gomes is the highest paid offseason acquisition earning $875,000 in base salary and $971,944 in total compensation following a free acquisition from Lille OSC. Columbus made another U22 Initiative signing during the 2026 offseason with Azerbaijani national team player Nariman Akhundzada joining from Qarabag. Akhundzada will earn $550,000 in base salary and $633,389 in total compensation. Sekou Bangoura was the only other international acquisition and will earn a base salary of $450,000 and a total compensation of $542,167.
Jamal Thiaré made the trip to Columbus via trade with Atlanta United following the departure of Jacen Russell-Rowe to Toulouse FC in Ligue 1. Thiaré will earn $500,000 in base salary and $530,000 in total compensation.
The Black & Gold made two roster additions from the 2024 MLS Superdraft (yes, 2024) signing goalkeeper Luke Pruter to a first team deal of $113,400 in base salary and total compensation and midfielder Zach Zengue to a deal worth $88,025 in base salary and total compensation.
Finally, the Crew rounded out the roster with a trio of homegrown signings, none of which will count toward the teams salary cap. Up-and-coming USYNT and Crew 2 striker Chase Adams will earn $88,025 in base salary and $114,303 in total compensation, midfielder Quinton Elliot will earn a base salary of $88,025 and total compensation of $92,668, and Owen Presthus (son of former Crew GK Tom Presthus) will earn a base salary of $88,025 and $94,216 in total compensation.
New Contracts and Pay Increases
Following rumors of an approach by Middlesbrough F.C., Columbus quietly signed Max Arfsten to an additional contract extension near the end of the 2025 MLS season. Arfsten’s new deal makes him a TAM player and will see him earn a base salary of $800,000 and total compensation of $895,000.
Sean Zawadzki, the Black & Gold’s captain following the retirement of Darlington Nagbe, signed an extension just before the season started. Zawadzki’s extension will keep the Crew Academy product in Columbus through 2030 and will pay him a base salary of $800,000 and total compensation of $900,500.
Dylan Chambost inked an extension through June of 2029, but that extension occurred after the release of this salary guide.
Notable League Acquisitions
The 2026 offseason was a light one for big-name signings but there are a few players who joined near the end of 2025 who weren’t reflected in our last review.
In the summer window of 2025, Son Heung-min joined LAFC, Thomas Müller joined the Vancouver Whitecaps, and Rodrigo De Paul joined Inter Miami. In 2026, Son will earn $11,152,852 in total compensation, Müller will bring in $5,152,504 in total compensation, and De Paul will earn a surprising $9,688,320. We previously covered San Diego FC’s acquisition of Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, but it’s worth highlighting that San Diego are currently paying Lozano $9.33 million not to play.
US Men’s National Team striker Josh Sargent is the biggest 2026 offseason acquisition with Toronto paying him $3,210,000 in base salary and $5,265,667 in total compensation. James Rodríguez, who was tenuously linked to the Crew, joined Minnesota United on a pre-World Cup deal and has a listed base and total compensation of $684,000 though reports suggest that Minnesota is instead paying Rodriguez a pro-rated salary closer to $250,000.
Overall League Spend
Inter Miami is once again the biggest spender with a total compensation of $54.6 million. Lionel Messi makes up the bulk of Miami’s total compensation spend with a at just over $28.3 million, more than half of the team’s entire roster spend. By himself, Messi makes more than the entirety of every other roster aside from LAFC (who are the second highest spenders at $32.7 million in total compensation).
Toronto FC drops out of the top 10 following the departures of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi. Atlanta United remain big spenders, despite their struggle for results, with a total compensation of $27.9 million, and the LA Galaxy slot in next at $26.4 million. Rounding out the top five, the Vancouver Whitecaps have jumped up following their appearance in the 2025 MLS Cup and their acquisition of Müller.
- Inter Miami – $54.6 million
- LAFC – $32.7 million
- Atlanta United – $27.9 million
- LA Galaxy – $26.4 million
- Vancouver Whitecaps – $24.6 million
- San Diego FC – $24.4 million
- FC Cincinnati – $23.5 million
- Nashville SC – $23 million
- Columbus Crew – $22.3 million
- (TIE) Chicago Fire – $21.7 million
- (TIE) Red Bull New York – $21.7 million
You’ll notice one other mover into the top 10 – the Columbus Crew. This time last season, Columbus was the 20th-highest spending team in MLS. However, for the first release of the 2026 season, the Crew is the 9th highest spending team in the league and solidly within the second tier of salary spend. The Black & Gold are solidly in the second tier of spenders behind Miami and LAFC. Obviously, this season has not had results that match the spending, but the investment is there, so hopefully the results follow.
MASSIVE REPORT 