The Major League Soccer Players’ Association released its end-of-year salary report on Wednesday, giving fans a look at their clubs’ payroll heading into the 2025 offseason. After a wild summer transfer window, the Colorado Rapids rounded out the season with $13,770,932 in base salary on the books. That was good for 23rd in the league, compared to 21st when the last report was released back in June.
Since that time, the Rapids trimmed more than $700,000 from the salary budget, but since October 2024, the payroll increased by almost $300,000. Some hefty salaries left the club this summer, including Kévin Cabral, Chidozie Awaziem and Djordje Mihailovic, who together combined for nearly $5 million. However, the Rapids’ three permanent summer acquisitions added nearly $3.6 million, distributed as follows:
• M Paxten Aaronson: $2 million
• CB Rob Holding: $1.2 million
• LB Rafael Santos: $375,000
The Rapids’ two other summer acquisitions, center back Noah Cobb and winger Alexis Manyoma, are with the club on loan. Cobb’s loan technically ended at the conclusion of the season, but the Rapids have a purchase option to acquire him permanently. His salary is on Atlanta United’s books in the meantime. Manyoma is listed at $535,000 on the Rapids’ payroll, but it’s likely his parent club, Club Estudiantes, will pay a portion of that until his loan ends in June.
Darren Yapi was the Rapids’ best bang-for-your-buck player on the roster, logging career highs in goals (eight) and assists (two) for just $104,000 annually. His contract is up, but the club has an option to bring him back for 2026.
Generally, the higher-spending clubs in the MLS tend to perform better, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. The Philadelphia Union, winners of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield for most points in the regular season, were reported as the lowest-spending team in the league as of Wednesday. Conversely, Atlanta has the third-most expensive payroll in the league, but only avoided finishing dead last by drawing D.C. United on Decision Day.
For the Rapids, the performance was just about right for the pay relative to the league. They finished 11th in the Western Conference (21st in MLS) after a significant drop-off at the end of the season.
The dip in form could in part be attributed to the loss of key players during the summer, namely Mihailovic, who forced his way out of the club back in August. His landing spot was Toronto FC, where he now makes about $2.16 million annually compared to his $1.45 million salary in Colorado.
Inter Miami topped the league again in total salary at just less than $37 million. Its superstar, Lionel Messi, logged a guaranteed compensation of more than $20 million, a number only three other entire teams topped in base salary.