Everything to know about the NYCFC players and their salaries for 2026

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·13 Mei 2026

Everything to know about the NYCFC players and their salaries for 2026

It is that time of the year once again. The Major League Soccer Players Association has released the salaries of the players for all of the MLS sides, including New York City FC. The 2026 Salary Guide was released on Tuesday, which was much earlier compared to last year’s late June release. In addition, the salaries are based on those under contract as of April 16, 2026.

When looking at the guide, NYCFC fans can see the base salary and the guaranteed compensation. Like every year, Skyscraper Blues will focus on the guaranteed compensation when discussing what the players will make this season. Anyone who is out on loan or off the roster will be included in the calculations and analysis.

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In the case of MLS as a whole, there are the expected top spenders, with Inter Miami CF spending $54.6 million. The Herons’ Lionel Messi, of course, makes the most money due to league deals and sponsorship deals, making over $28.3 million. The next highest earner is Los Angeles FC’s Son Heung-min, and he makes over $11.1 million. LAFC is also second in team spending, followed by Atlanta United FC in third.

NYCFC is in 12th place when it comes to team spending. The Queens team is spending about $21.5 million in the players’ salaries, or $21,539,612 total. This is much higher compared to what they spent in the spring of 2025, for the players only earned $14,963,973.

NYCFC will spend about $21.54 million on 2026 salaries

After four years straight of making the most money for NYCFC, Thiago Martins has been knocked off the top. Nicolás Fernández Mercau makes the most for the Boys in Blue, making $3,650,000. Martins makes slightly more than last year, making $2,262,000, the second-most amount. Hannes Wolf is in third, where he will make $1,510,000, and Talles Magno is in fourth, taking home $1,365,000.

Notably, six players make over $1 million, and 16 have a salary of $500,000 or more. Then, six players make below $100,000, with the lowest salary of $88,025 belonging to three players: Kamran Acito, Cooper Flax, and Mac Learned. The lowest salary has increased by almost $8,000 since 2025.

For the most part, the NYCFC salaries make sense based on talent and experience. It is good to see that Matt Freese earns almost double his salary from the previous campaign, for he has gone from $420,000 to $795,833. The biggest surprise, though, and not in the best way, is that Raul Gustavo is guaranteed to make $812,960. Truth be told, he probably should not be making that much. Of course, he could eventually prove his worth, but it would have made more sense if he had a salary of around $500,000 instead.

On average, when one totals 36 players, including those off the roster or on loan, NYCFC spends an average of $598,323 on players in 2026. That is much higher compared to the $482,709 spent in 2025.