Atlanta United is an MLS team that quickly became one of the most successful and popular in the league, with a number of impressive accomplishments in its short history such as winning the MLS Cup. Such quick success is due in part to the strong funding the team has to afford top-quality players.
The average base salary of an Atlanta United player is $562,877 with an average annualized guaranteed compensation of $644,163 on a roster of 33 players. The highest-paid player is Luiz Araujo, with a base salary of $3,600,000 and guaranteed compensation of $4,483,333.
Based on that information, it is easy to get the first impression that every player earns a six-figure salary. For the most part that is true, but not for every player. Let’s explore the following table showing a breakdown of each player.
Table of Contents
- Atlanta United Salaries
- Top 3 Highest-Paid Players
- The proportion of spending on the Highest Earners
- Atlanta United Salaries Compared to Other MLS Teams
- Funding: Where Is The Money Coming From?
Atlanta United Salaries
Here is a breakdown of the base salary and guaranteed compensation of the Atlanta United players.
Top 3 Highest-Paid Players
The highest-paid players of Atlanta Unite are:
- Luiz Araujo – $4,483,333
- Thiago Almada – $2,332,000
- Georgios Giakoumakis – $1,748,728
1. Luiz Araujo – $4,483,333
Luiz Araujo began his professional soccer career with Sao Paulo FC in 2014, where he played for four seasons and scored 17 goals in 101 appearances. In 2018, Luiz Araujo transferred to French club Lille OSC, where he played for three seasons and scored 12 goals in 92 appearances.
Luiz Araujo joined Atlanta United in July 2021 on a loan deal from Lille OSC, with an option to make the move permanent. He made his debut for Atlanta United on July 17, 2021, in a match against the New England Revolution.
Araujo has represented Brazil at the U-20 level and was part of the team that won the South American Youth Soccer Championship in 2015. Luiz Araujo is still relatively young and has a lot of potential, and could be a key player for Atlanta United in the years to come.
With his exciting style of play and impressive performances on the field, he has quickly become a fan favorite in Atlanta.
2. Thiago Almada – $2,332,000
The attacking midfielder Argentine player, Thiago Almada, began his professional career with Velez Sarsfield in 2018, and quickly established himself as one of the team’s most promising young players.
He has represented Argentina at the U-20 level and has been compared to Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi due to his style of play and technical ability.
In 2022, Thiago Almada signed with Atlanta United on a five-year contract, becoming the team’s third designated player. Despite that, Thiago Almada is still young and has a lot of potential, and could be a key player for Atlanta United in the years to come.
3. Georgios Giakoumakis – $1,748,728
Born on 9 December 1994 in Heraklion, Greece, Georgios Giakoumakis is a striker who signed a contract with Atlanta United expiring on December 31, 2026. According to Transfermarkt, his current market value is €3.00m at the moment of writing this article.
Giakoumakis has had a successful career so far. He played for several clubs in Greece before joining Scottish Premiership club Celtic FC in 2021. During the 2021-22 season, he was the league’s top goal scorer with 13 goals and helped Celtic win both the league title and Scottish League Cup.
His position is a center-forward, and he is expected to play a key role in Atlanta United’s offense. According to Dirty South Soccer, Giakoumakis has embraced the pressure that comes with being the team’s newest designated player and starting striker.
The proportion of spending on the Highest Earners
The top three earners are, as expected, the three designated players: Luiz Araújo, Thiago Almada, and Georgios Giakoumakis. When analyzing the overall percentage salary expenditure between these three players and the rest of Atlanta’s players, the designated players are the equivalent of 43% of the whole roster’s salary.
It is safe to say the three designated players take a good chunk of the overall’s team salary. However, when we compared these percentages with other teams like Houston Dynamo where the proportion of the top three highest earners is 50%, you can tell there’s less of a gap between what the best or designated players earn with respect to the rest of the team.
Doing a further analysis of the percentage of the highest earner, Luiz Araújo, in comparison and the rest of the team, the Brazilian ex-Lille player, accounts for 23% of the team’s salary.
Atlanta United Salaries Compared to Other MLS Teams
Although Atlanta United FC has been spending a lot on salaries, the team’s spending is still lower than two other top teams in the league based on the MLS teams and players’ salary reports.
For example, LA Galaxy has a total roster guaranteed compensation of $23 million. Meanwhile, Atlanta United FC’s roster compensation is $21 million, a difference of $2 million in payroll from the second-highest payroll in the MLS.
Atlanta United is the third MLS team with the highest average salary in the league, including some of the highest-paid players. Luiz Araujo is the 8th highest earner in the MLS, and Thiago Almada is in ranked 23 in the list of top 25 MLS earners.
Despite the high salary budget, Atlanta United’s performance in recent years has been mixed. In the 2020 season, the team finished in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, failing to qualify for the playoffs. However, the team has a strong history of success, having won the MLS Cup in 2018 and the US Open Cup in 2019.
While high salaries do not always guarantee success, Atlanta United’s financial dominance in the MLS is undeniable. The team’s ability to attract high-profile you players and invest in its roster has positioned it as a major contender in the league. It remains to be seen whether the team can translate its financial advantage into on-field success in the coming seasons.
Funding: Where Is The Money Coming From?
“The Five Stripes” Georgia team has one of the strongest funding among all the teams in the MLS. Atlanta United is funded primarily through private investment from its owner, Arthur Blank who is also known for being the co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
The team also receives some funding from the MLS, which provides a portion of its revenue to all of its member clubs. Additionally, the quick fan base growth of the team cannot be understated. Their fans broke MLS attendance records in 2017 by averaging 48,200 people per game!
That not only provides the much-needed support players want during their home games and a great soccer atmosphere but also keeps a high and steady revenue for the team from ticket sales, and merchandise.
Additionally, Atlanta United has partnered with a number of corporate sponsors, including Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, and Mercedes-Benz, to help fund the team’s operations and initiatives.
