Not only does Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi stand as MLS' highest-paid player at $20,446,667.00 in guaranteed compensation for 2024, but that figure is also more than the combined payrolls for 25 of the other 28 teams in the league.
Those figures (as of April 25) are per the MLS Players Association, and ESPN's Jeff Carlisle relayed them on Thursday.
However, as Carlisle noted, Messi stands to make even more money: "The amount reflects just the playing portion of Messi's compensation, with the Argentina star also set to benefit from other revenue streams such as his endorsement deal with Adidas and a revenue sharing agreement with league broadcast partner Apple.