MLS 2023 salaries revealed -- who is the league's highest-paid player?

Major League Soccer salaries and club payrolls were released to the public on Tuesday.

Salaries around the league are rising as MLS continues to grow. The average player salary has risen 11 percent relative to 2022, with the figure sitting at just over $530,000. However, this salary pales in comparison to the league's most glamorous draws and its top earners.

Meet the richest players in MLS

Atop the MLS rich list is Chicago Fire attacker Xherdan Shaqiri, who will make $8,153,000 this season. He takes up a huge chunk of Chicago's payroll and has yet to score a goal this season.

Just behind Shaqiri is Toronto FC star Lorenzo Insigne and his $7,500,000 salary. Only $56,250 separates Insigne from LA Galaxyforward Chicharito Hernandez, and another Toronto player, forward Federico Bernardeschi, features in the top five with his $6,295,381 salary.

Rounding out the top five is Austin FC attacker Sebastián Driussi, who will make just over $6 million in 2023. Longtime Mexico international Héctor Herrera is sixth on the list, as his $5,246,875 salary is the highest in the Houston Dynamo squad.

How MLS teams stack up

Looking at each club's salary outlay, Toronto are unsurprisingly the league's top spenders. TFC are spending almost $26 million on its roster this season, but are currently last in the Eastern Conference with two wins from 12 games.

The Galaxy, Atlanta United, and D.C. United are all spending north of $20 million on players this year, but only Atlanta are firmly in the playoff picture at this point in the campaign.

The lowest spenders in MLS are CF Montréal, which is a playoff spot in the East despite a $10.5 million payroll. First-year franchise St. Louis City SC has the second-lowest payroll, but a scorching start to life in MLS has seen St. Louis rise to third in the Western Conference.