Orlando City's 2023 salary breakdown
The Major League Soccer Player's Association released the first of its bi-annual salary guides. These releases detail the salaries of every player on every team across the league. The information gives fans a glimpse into the shrouded details of MLS salary configurations league wide.
While this information --- especially without context regarding the salary cap, allocation money, budget charges, etc. --- isn't super useful, it's an interesting glimpse into how much teams are spending and what players they're spending on.
Let's dive into Orlando City's salary guide for the 2023 season. The Lions aren't the biggest spenders in the league by any measure. The club has gotten more ambitious in the transfer market, but the payroll is fairly modest compared to some of the top spenders in the league.
Here are some of the most noteworthy details of Orlando's salary guide:
Ercan Kara making top dollar
Austrian striker Ercan Kara is comfortably the highest paid player on the roster. He's the only player on the team making over $1 million and both his base salary and guaranteed compensation are more than double the second-highest paid player at the club, Facundo Torres.
Kara isn't that highly paid in the grand scheme of MLS. He's the 35th highest earner in the league, right behind Nashville center back Walker Zimmerman and LAFC superstar Denis Bouanga. This fact highlights Orlando's relatively cheap top players. The Lions don't have one or two designated players making astronomical amounts, instead it's a fairly balanced wage bill.
Pereyra's significant pay cut
Orlando City re-signed club captain Mauricio Pereyra on a non-DP deal this offseason, and the Uruguayan midfielder took a significant pay cut to stay with the Lions. In the fall 2022 salary guide, Pereyra earned over $1.3 million. On his new contract, he's set to make $675,000.
For a player who's had a long career and earned plenty, it might not be a significant number, but for it's always encouraging to see beloved leaders stick with the club even at a reduced rate. Pereyra is now the sixth highest earner at the club.
Gallese is second most expensive goalkeeper in MLS
Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese is one of the highest rated shot-stoppers in MLS, and he's certainly getting paid like it. The South American star is the second highest-paid goalkeeper in the league, only behind St. Louis's Roman Bürki.
Spending a lot on a goalkeeper is always a risky proposition, but Gallese has been a rock for Orlando since arriving in MLS ahead of the 2020 season. "El Pulpo" is the third highest paid player at the club, and the highest paid non-DP on the roster.
Full Salary Table
Here's the full breakdown of Orlando's salary guide. * denotes a Designated Player, ** denotes a U22 initiative player.
Player | Position | Age | Base Salary | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ercan Kara* | ST | 27 | $1,860,000.00 | $2,053,601.00 |
Facundo Torres* | W | 23 | $640,000.00 | $993,200.00 |
Pedro Gallese | GK | 33 | $720,000.00 | $937,333.00 |
Antonio Carlos | CB | 30 | $900,000.00 | $925,000.00 |
Martín Ojeda* | W | 24 | $840,000.00 | $912,600.00 |
Mauricio Pereyra | M | 33 | $675,000.00 | $675,000.00 |
Robin Jansson | CB | 31 | $575,000.00 | $631,250.00 |
Wilder Cartagena | DM | 28 | $348,000.00 | $388,250.00 |
Iván Angulo | W | 24 | $348,000.00 | $380,660.00 |
Ramiro Enrique** | ST | 22 | $318,182.00 | $375,909.00 |
Gastón González** | W | 21 | $360,000.00 | $362,400.00 |
Rodrigo Schlegel | CB | 26 | $300,000.00 | $349,250.00 |
Rafael Santos | LB | 27 | $300,000.00 | $326,188.00 |
César Araújo** | DM | 22 | $255,000.00 | $294,000.00 |
Kyle Smith | RB | 31 | $250,000.00 | $265,900.00 |
Dagur Dan Thórhallsson | M | 23 | $160,000.00 | $195,500.00 |
Maston Stajduhar | GK | 25 | $130,000.00 | $145,650.00 |
Michael Halliday | RB | 20 | $110,000.00 | $116,300.00 |
Shak Mohammed | W | 19 | $85,444.00 | $102,444.00 |
Luca Petrasso | LB | 22 | $85,444.00 | $94,468.00 |
Thomas Williams | CB | 18 | $85,444.00 | $91,974.00 |
Adam Grinwis | GK | 31 | $85,444.00 | $85,444.00 |
Felipe Martins | M | 32 | $85,444.00 | $85,444.00 |
Wilfredo Rivera | W | 19 | $85,444.00 | $85,444.00 |
Duncan McGuire | ST | 22 | $67,360.00 | $77,360.00 |
Favian Loyola | M | 17 | $67,360.00 | $69,495.00 |
Jack Lynn | ST | 23 | $68,775.00 | $68,775.00 |
Abdi Salim | CB | 22 | $67,360.00 | $67,360.00 |
Alex Freeman | RB | 18 | $67,360.00 | $67,360.00 |