Are you curious about the salaries of the players on DC United’s roster? As the 2023 season approaches, fans and analysts alike are eager to know who the highest earners are and what the average salary looks like. With 31 players on the roster, there’s no shortage of talent on this team, but who are the players that are making the most money?
The average base salary of a DC United player is $606,694 with an average annualized guaranteed compensation of $645,696. The highest-paid player is Christian Benteke, with a base salary of $4,250,000 and guaranteed compensation of $4,432,778.
But how does this compare to other MLS teams? Are they spending more or less than their competitors? We’ll take a look at the numbers and analyze what this means for the team’s success on the field. So, buckle up and get ready for an in-depth look at DC United’s salaries in 2023.
Table of Contents
- DC United Salaries
- Top 3 Highest-Paid Players: Benteke Leading the List
- Spending Analysis on the Highest Earners
- DC United Salaries Compared to Other MLS Teams
- Funding: Where Is The Money Coming From?
DC United Salaries
Here is the breakdown of the Black-and-Red players’ base salary and guaranteed compensation.
Top 3 Highest-Paid Players: Benteke Leading the List
The top 3 earners of DC United are:
- Christian Benteke – $4,432,778
- Mateusz Klich – $2,093,588
- Taxiarchis Fountas – $1,741,000
1. Christian Benteke – $4,432,778
In August 2022, the Belgian striker Christian Benteke was announced that would be leaving Crystal Palace to join DC United on a permanent transfer. Although the transfer fee has not yet been disclosed, the estimated fee is €5.46 million.
He joined the club as a Designated Player, with a base salary of $4,250,000 and guaranteed compensation of $4,432,778. His transfermarkt value is estimated at €3 million as of June 2023. While Benteke’s salary is not as high as other top players like Xherdan Shaqiri or Lorenzo Insigne, both earning over $7 million, his salary is among the top 10 highest salaries of the MLS for the 2023 season.
Benteke has also represented the Belgium national team, earning over 40 caps and scoring over 10 goals. In his club career, he has played for a number of top European clubs, including Genk, Standard Liège, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace. He has won several individual awards, including the Premier League Player of the Month award in April 2015 and the Belgian Golden Shoe award in 2013.
2. Mateusz Klich – $2,093,588
The Polish player Mateusz Klich is a central midfielder who joined DC United by the end of January 2023 from Leeds United on a free transfer joining the club as a Designated Player.
With a base salary of $1,975,000 and guaranteed compensation of $2,093,588, Klich is the second-highest earner in the club. His transfermarkt value is estimated at €2 million as of June 2023.
Klich has represented the Poland national team, earning over 30 caps and scoring several goals. In his club career, he has played for clubs in Poland, Germany, and England, including Pogon Szczecin, Wolfsburg, and Leeds United. He won the EFL Championship title with Leeds United in the 2019-2020 season.
3. Taxiarchis Fountas – $1,741,000
In March 2022, it was announced that Taxiarchis Fountas would be leaving Rapid Wien to join DC United on a permanent transfer for around $400,000, according to the Washington Post. He joined the club as a Designated Player, with a base salary of $1,625,000 and guaranteed compensation of $1,741,000.
Taxiarchis Fountas plays as a forward and his transfermarkt value is estimated at €5 million as of June 2023, which is higher than Christian Benteke and Mateusz Klich. Despite that, Fountas is not the highest earner in the team.
Fountas has also represented the Greece national team, earning over 10 caps. In his club career, he has played for several clubs in Greece and Austria, including AEK Athens, Grödig, St. Pölten, Austria Wien, and Rapid Wien. He has won the Austrian Bundesliga top scorer award in the 2020-2021 season.
Spending Analysis on the Highest Earners
The “chosen” or designated players for the 2023 season are Christian Benteke, Mateusz Klich, and Taxiarchis Fountas. Therefore, it is expected for them to be the highest earners of the team. Among the three, they account for 41% of the whole team’s salary.
Yes, over 40% in only three players is a good amount and it is similar to the case of Seattle Sounders, where 44% of the payroll is towards designated players. Despite that, I’ve seen higher salary percentages of designated players with respect to the rest of the team like LA Galaxy with 58% of the payroll for Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, Douglas Costa, and Riqui Puig.
Christian Benetke stands out as the highest earner of the team, as well as among the top-paid players in the MLS. His guaranteed compensation amounts to $4.4 million, making him a critical investment for DC united as he accounts for 22% of the whole team payroll.
DC United Salaries Compared to Other MLS Teams
DC is one of the highest-spending MLS teams when it comes to player salaries. The total salary is just over $20 million for the 2023 season, making them the 4 highest payrolls in the league below other teams like Toronto FC, LA Galaxy.
When it comes to average player salary, DC United ranks fifth in the league, with an average salary of $645,696. This is above Atlanta United which interestingly has a higher payroll than the team of the Black-and-Red.
Funding: Where Is The Money Coming From?
DC United is one of the most well-funded teams in Major League Soccer (MLS), and it shows in the salaries of their players. But where is all this money coming from? Let’s take a closer look at the funding sources for DC United in 2023.
First and foremost, the team is owned by a group of investors led by Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan. Levien is a former NBA executive, while Kaplan is a co-founder of the Oaktree Capital Management investment firm.
Together, they have invested heavily in the team, providing the financial backing needed to attract top talent like Christian Benteke and Mateusz Klich. The team is valued at $700 million, among the top 5 most-valued teams in the MLS.
In addition to the team’s owners, DC United has also secured several major sponsorships in recent years. In 2021, the team announced a multi-year partnership with Leidos, a technology and engineering solutions company based in Reston, Virginia.
The deal includes naming rights to the team’s home stadium, Audi Field, as well as a variety of other marketing and promotional opportunities. DC United has also secured sponsorship deals with other major brands, including Heineken, Pepsi, and Audi.
Finally, it’s worth noting that MLS has a unique salary structure that allows teams to sign designated players like Benteke and Klich without counting their full salaries against the team’s salary cap. This means that even though these players are making millions of dollars, they are only counting for a fraction of that amount when it comes to the team’s overall budget. This structure allows teams like DC United to attract top talent without breaking the bank.
