MLS spending in 2025: What money really bought the league’s teams

The 2025 MLS season saw 10 clubs spend $20 million or more in salaries. Just three seasons earlier, MLS had a mere two teams spend $20 million or more on player salaries. It won’t surprise supporters that Sporting KC weren’t one of the big spenders.

The Wizards ranked 15th in MLS in payroll in 2025. With so many players released at the end of the campaign, and the club still needing players to fill out its current roster, it is likely the current season has the team closer to the bottom of the league in payroll.

How far off the top spenders were Sporting KC in 2025?

Sporting KC were exactly mid-table when it comes to salaries paid. The team paid $17,715,629 to players, which was around $29 million off the league’s top spenders, Inter Miami. 

It will surprise no one that Inter Miami were the league’s biggest spenders. What did Inter Miami achieve as MLS’s top spenders? It landed them the 2025 MLS Cup trophy. 

Sporting Kansas City weren’t far off the top-10 spenders in the league, either. San Diego FC ranked No. 10 with $20,033,029 spent on player salaries.

The numbers show that Sporting KC weren’t big spenders in 2025. Yet, the team weren’t low spenders either. So why were they so bad? A poorly constructed squad, a coach out of ideas, and a fanbase tired of seeing the same thing over and over again were all reasons for a second consecutive disappointing campaign.

1. Inter Miami — $46,836,635
2. Toronto FC — $34,146,193
3. Atlanta United — $27,627,164
4. FC Cincinnati — $23,180,135
5. LA Galaxy — $22,870,938
6. Los Angeles FC — $22,369,590
7. Chicago Fire — $22,052,757
8. Nashville SC — $21,751,786
9. New York Red Bulls — $21,542,277
10. San Diego FC — $20,033,029
11. Portland Timbers — $19,565,541
12. FC Dallas — $18,977,292
13. St. Louis City — $18,106,711
14. Seattle Sounders — $18,088,581
15. Sporting KC — $17,715,629
16. Charlotte FC — $17,133,985
17. New England Revolution — $17,194,922
18. San Jose Earthquakes — $17,190,978
19. Orlando City — $16,440,785
20. Columbus Crew — $16,355,869
21. Vancouver Whitecaps — $15,713,177
22. Colorado Rapids — $15,482,331
23. Austin FC — $15,331,947
24. New York City FC — $14,963,973
25. D.C. United — $14,616,314
26. Minnesota United — $13,804,472
27. Houston Dynamo — $13,414,691
28. Philadelphia Union — $13,365,549
29. Real Salt Lake — $13,252,642
30. CF Montreal — $11,993,946

Did spending more money equal playoff qualification in 2025?

You might think spending equates to success in MLS. Yes, it is true, the more you spend, the likelier you are to win trophies. That is often the case for soccer worldwide. 

But did spending heavily on player salaries help teams make the playoffs in 2025? This is a league in which more than 50% of teams reach the postseason. So, it didn’t necessarily equate to qualification.

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams

Team | Salary Rank | Spend


Inter Miami | 1st | $46.8M
FC Cincinnati | 4th | $23.2M
Chicago Fire | 7th | $22.1M
Nashville SC | 8th | $21.8M
Charlotte FC | 16th | $17.1M
Columbus Crew | 20th | $16.4M
Orlando City | 19th | $16.4M
New York City FC | 24th | $15.0M
Philadelphia Union | 28th | $13.4M

Western Conference Playoff Teams

Team | Salary Rank | Spend


Los Angeles FC | 6th | $22.4M
San Diego FC | 10th | $20.0M
Portland Timbers | 11th | $19.6M
FC Dallas | 12th | $19.0M
Seattle Sounders | 14th | $18.1M
Minnesota United | 26th | $13.8M
Real Salt Lake | 29th | $13.3M
Austin FC | 23rd | $15.3M
Vancouver Whitecaps | 21st | $15.7M

Spending money is helpful, but spending it well is the trick

MLS loves to promote the idea that smart recruitment can outfox big spending, that the little guy still has a seat at the table. In 2025, the numbers back that up but not completely.

Inter Miami spent $46.8 million on wages and finished third in the East. Alongside them, FC Cincinnati (fourth in spending) and Los Angeles FC (sixth) also did what rich teams are supposed to do: win a lot of matches. So far, so predictable.

But MLS isn’t the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, or the Bundesliga, and it quickly veers off script. Take the Philadelphia Union. They finished first in the Eastern Conference but ranked 28th in spending.

That’s not quite Moneyball. It’s closer to outright theft, stealing wins on a near-weekly basis. While other clubs were handing out large contracts, Philadelphia built a Supporters’ Shield-winning team on what is essentially loose change. Look at the Union this season, however, and things appear different after five games: no wins. That’s the real parity.

The Union weren’t alone. Real Salt Lake snuck into the playoffs ranked 29th in salary spend, and Minnesota United made it comfortably while sitting 26th. Even New York City FC, not exactly known for penny-pinching, found themselves in the postseason despite ranking 24th.

For every overachiever, there’s a big spender wandering around aimlessly. Atlanta United (third in payroll) didn’t make it. LA Galaxy (fifth) didn’t make it. Spending money in MLS doesn’t guarantee success. It just increases the criticism when it all goes wrong.

Which brings us, neatly and uncomfortably, to Sporting KC. Fifteenth in spending. Dead in the middle of the salary table. It is a dangerous area. You’ve spent enough to be good enough for the playoffs, yet not enough to match the caliber of the league’s biggest clubs.

However, this figure, when examined more closely, is an indictment of Sporting KC in the waning Peter Vermes years. The scouting wasn’t good enough. The squad building wasn’t good enough. The tactics weren’t good enough. The list goes on.

If MLS has taught us anything, it’s this: you can win while spending very little, and you can win while spending a lot. Vancouver Whitecaps reached the MLS Cup Final with the 21st-ranked payroll. Inter Miami won it with the highest spend on player salaries.

Money matters, but in MLS, how you spend it matters far more.