The Crew are near the bottom third of the league for team spending, according to the MLS Players Association’s 2025 spring salary guide.
With 26 players on the roster as of May 23, the Crew are spending $16,355,869 in team salary, which is the 20th-highest overall salary out of 30 clubs in MLS. The Crew signed homegrown midfielder Tristan Brown on June 10 after the spring salary guide was finalized.
The club is spending $230,470 less than its October 2024 salary total of $16,586,339.
The Crew’s second-highest earner of 2024, Cucho Hernandez ($2,886,000), was transferred to La Liga’s Real Betis during the offseason, opening a designated player slot. The Crew eventually filled that spot by signing Daniel Gazdag.
After being traded from the Philadelphia Union on April 11, Gazdag inked a new contract on May 7. He is making $2,597,643 this season.
Herrera included in spring salary guide, though loan expired
On June 30, midfielder Andres Herrera’s loan from River Plate in Argentina expired without a new agreement being reached between the two clubs, a source confirmed.
The Crew are working to finalize a new deal with River Plate with the expectation of keeping Herrera around.
Under his original loan, Herrera was making $737,158 in Columbus.
Schulte sees salary jump
Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte agreed to a contract extension on Feb. 17, and along with adding up to three years of team control, Schulte’s salary increased by more than $800,000.
Schulte made $134,978 last season under the contract he signed after being drafted by the Crew in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. With his new extension, Schulte is earning $957,643 this season, making him the highest-paid non-designated player on the Crew’s roster.
How much is each Crew player making?
How do other MLS teams’ salaries compare?
Inter Miami leads the league in team salary, spending $46,836,635, unsurprising since their lineup features the highest-paid player, Lionel Messi.
Not only is Miami’s salary around $30 million more than the Crew’s, but Messi’s salary of $20,446,667 is $4 million more than the Crew’s entire roster.
bmackay@dispatch.com
@brimackay15
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew team salary falls from 2024 following Cucho Hernandez transfer
Reporting by Brianna Mac Kay, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
