The 2026 MLSPA spring salary guide is out, giving a full look at who’s making what in Major League Soccer. Atlanta United is once again one of the league’s big spenders. Of course, the results haven’t matched that spend.
Atlanta United’s total guaranteed compensation is $27,884,034. That’s the third highest in MLS, behind only Inter Miami ($54.574M) and LAFC ($32.648M).
Here’s a look at what Atlanta United players will be paid in 2026:
I still can’t get over Miguel Almiron’s salary
Yes, it’s a Designated Player spot, so it looks like $803,125 in the books. But Miguel Almirón being the fifth highest-paid player in all of Major League Soccer never ceases to blow my mind. And that $7.871 million number is what he’ll be judged by, not his budget charge.
Matías Galarza, Tomás Jacob, Elías Báez, Lucas Hoyos salaries revealed
Galarza’s full-year salary works out to be $945,413, putting him in TAM territory. I’d expect that Atlanta will make his loan permanent if his purchase option hasn’t been exercised already. Jacob and Báez are at $642,500 and $293,706, respectively. That said, those two hit the books at $200,000 each since they’re U22 Initiative players.
As for Hoyos, his number ($342,667) is not too high. In fact, it makes him the 27th highest-paid goalkeeper in MLS. With his contract only for a year with options for the 2027 sprint season and the 2027-28 season, Atlanta is paying him a relatively low amount of money as it readies Jayden Hibbert to take over the No. 1 shirt at some point. (Maybe?)
Fafa Picault, Sergio Santos, Ronald Hernández all on reduced contracts for 2026
Given their ages and roles, it’s natural that Picault and Santos would be on much lower contracts than they were on their previous contracts. As you can see above, Picault’s guaranteed compensation in 2026 is nearly $500,000 lower than it was in 2025. Santos, whose guaranteed compensation was $940,625 in 2025, is at $171,000 in 2026.
Hernández’s is key because he was at $290,750 in 2025. Atlanta notably declined his option at the end of the season but was always hoping to bring him back. His guaranteed compensation for 2026 not only fits his reduced role but is a sign of how much he enjoys living in Atlanta, despite the results on the pitch.
Steven Alzate presents the club’s most logical buyout option
Steven Alzate is on a TAM contract through the 2030 season and is set to make $1,377,087 in 2026. That’s a massive number for a player who hasn’t come close to what’s been expected of him. On top of that, he’s been injured, and it’s doubtful that he will be part of Tata Martino’s plans after the World Cup break. Given those factors, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s one of the club’s prime buyout candidates. Did I mention that his contract runs until 2030?
Who else could be out?
It’s doubtful that Berrocal will have his purchase option picked up. Atlanta will then have to look for a new center back to take his place. Let’s hope that whoever it ends up being isn’t as expensive. (Keep in mind it had Efra Morales and Noah Cobb before moving both players. That decision continues to sting.)
Latte Lath continues to occupy a Designated Player slot he has not performed to. If Atlanta were to buy out a DP (I stress if), he makes the most sense. Doing so with Almirón would, frankly, be bad PR for a club that doesn’t need it right now. Miranchuk could at least fetch you something on the transfer market, but considering Atlanta paid $13M to bring him in, it’ll be taking a loss.
Top 10 MLS players by guaranteed compensation
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami – $28,333,333
- Son Heung-Min, LAFC – $11,152,852
- Rodrigo De Paul, Inter Miami – $9,688,320
- Chucky Lozano, San Diego FC – $9,688,320
- Miguel Almirón, Atlanta United – $7,871,000
- Emil Forsberg, Red Bull New York – $6,035,625
- Sam Surridge, Nashville SC – $5,933,000
- Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy – $5,792,188
- Jonathan Bamba, Chicago Fire – $5,581,806
- Hany Mukhtar, Nashville SC – $5,411,667
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
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Let’s be real for a second:
Moving Alzate and Berrocal also frees up 2 international slots
There is no way we can move Alzate, only way out of his contract is a buyout. And Berrocal is a loan that is ending basically next month, so we don’t have to worry about moving him.
You never know, they could mix up Berrocal and Galarza paperwork
Muyumba and Saba have proved somewhat useful of late. I do wonder if either player might agree to terminate their contract this summer, though. Neither is a standout performer. Saba, in particular, carries a large cap hit. It could be to their benefit to hit the transfer market on a free this summer if they aren’t going to be back after this season ends.
Not much to add to the comments or article. Lots of really shitty contracts sitting out there.
Of the non-DP players, Alzate, Berrocal, and Mihaj are massively overpaid, and Fortune and Sanchez are massively underpaid. The comp for our 3 DPs are completely out of line with reality and their abilities. Moving or buying out players at a loss is better than continuing the mess we have.
traditionally homegrown players are usually underpaid. that is usually why teams try to hold onto homegrown player. unless you are Atlanta FO with our CBs…
I thought Lagerway was brought in to clean up all the bad contracts. Looks like he replaced Bocas bad decisions with his own.
Lagerway was a disaster here. Results got worse; personnel decisions did not improve. All told, his time here was terrible.
Lagerway was originally brought in to be the team president, where he would basically handle the business side of the team, but he ended up back in the operationally side after the team fired Boca. But he definitely did not fix the issues for sure.
I feel like these salaries are from bizarro world. Or were signed on upside down day. Or something. Half the guys in the lower salary bracket make half the guys in the higher salary bracket look like pickup players. I get homegrown guys are generally paid smaller amounts, especially when they are young, but Coop getting paid pennies to the dollar of the big names around him is hilarious (in a bad way). Berrocal AND Mihaj on higher salaries than the one CB worth keeping is insane. And of course, something we have all had to learn to accept.. but the 3rd highest player in the squad on a record-breaking transfer whose entire job is literally “score goals and worry about nothing else” has like, what, 8 or so goals in a year and a half?
By the way, have you guys done any kind of article or anything that actually explains this salary stuff in a way that makes sense? I have like an 8th grade understanding of it, and I’m sure I’m not alone. May make for a cool write up.
Some sort of metric like weighted average dollars spent per minute could be interesting.
Basically, give each guy’s salary an equivalent rate per minute (total salary divided by a full slate of regular season games times 90 mins?). Then calculate that against minutes actually played. THEN see where we fall relative to the competition.
Alternatively, do the same thing but cap the DPs at their cap hit to adjust for outliers.
We certainly wouldnt be #3 in the league. But I’d be curious to see how much we’d drop.
I think they did a TAM vs, GAM vs. DP vs. Homegrown vs. Generation Adidas and so on article a while back and I had to read it multiple times to understand all the moving pieces. But I think it’s been updated since then so it may be out of date.
So many bad contracts; so little time