How the Philadelphia Union's payroll compares to other local sports teams
ESPN The Magazine put together a really interesting feature this week ranking payrolls for teams across a wide range of American and other sports.
How the Philadelphia Union’s payroll compares to other local sports teams
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
ESPN The Magazine put together a really interesting feature this week ranking payrolls for teams across a wide range of American and other sports.
This allows us to compare how the Union's payroll stacks up against those of the big four professional teams, as well as other MLS and international teams.
Although the article does not directly state the source of its MLS salary data, it does say that the key "average weekly pay" figure is "calcualated from base playeyr salaries from current or most recently completed seasons from each sport."
The MLS Players Union hasn't released this year's salary figures yet. So either ESPN got new numbers on its own, or the figures used to compile MLS payrolls came from the end of last season. Judging from what ESPN used as the Union's total payroll figure, I'm guessing the former.
Last year's numbers can be found here. It would not surprise me if we get new updates for the 2012 season some time soon.
ESPN's rankings are quite diverse. They include teams from:
- American sports leagues: Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and National Hockey League
- Soccer leagues: Major League Soccer, Spain's La Liga, England's Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga and Scotland's Premier League
(Among the notable soccer leagues not included are France's Ligue 1, the Netherlands' Eredivisie and Mexico's Primera Liga, all of which have teams with large payrolls)
- Other sports: Indian cricket's Premier League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, the Australian Football League and the Canadian Football League
Here's how the Union's payroll compares to the big four Philadelphia pro sports teams. The ranking is determined by average annual salary paid out to each player:
| Rank | Team | Avg. annual pay | Avg. weekly pay | Total payroll | Payroll rank |
| 9 | Phillies | $5,817,965 | $111,184 | $174,538,938 | 5 |
| 23 | 76ers | $4,801,957 | $92,345 | $67,227,398 | 91 |
| 100 | Flyers | $2,524,821 | $48,554 | $70,695,000 | 84 |
| 128 | Eagles | $2,233,333 | $42,949 | $113,900,000 | 36 |
| 255 | Union | $162,232 | $3,120 | $4,542,484 | 253 |
Here's how the Union's payroll stacks up within Major League Soccer:
| Rank | Team | Avg. annual pay | Avg. weekly pay | Total payroll | Payroll rank |
| 219 | Los Angeles Galaxy | $555,799 | $10,688 | $17,229,783 | 206 |
| 222 | New York Red Bulls | $529,126 | $10,176 | $13,228,155 | 211 |
| 228 | Toronto FC | $321,959 | $6,192 | $8,370,923 | 223 |
| 251 | Chivas USA | $178,644 | $3,435 | $4,287,461 | 260 |
| 253 | Seattle Sounders | $173,024 | $3,327 | $5,363,729 | 249 |
| 255 | Philadelphia Union | $162,232 | $3,120 | $4,542,484 | 253 |
| 256 | FC Dallas | $157,387 | $3,027 | $4,406,842 | 257 |
| 257 | Vancouver Whitecaps | $150,092 | $2,886 | $4,202,583 | 262 |
| 258 | Real Salt Lake | $149,296 | $2,883 | $3,898,065 | 268 |
| 259 | Portland Timbers | $149,515 | $2,875 | $4,485,462 | 254 |
| 260 | Houston Dynamo | $147,882 | $2,844 | $3,697,038 | 270 |
| 261 | Chicago Fire | $145,521 | $2,798 | $3,929,075 | 267 |
| 262 | D.C. United | $141,307 | $2,717 | $3,673,994 | 271 |
| 263 | Colorado Rapids | $127,457 | $2,451 | $3,823,719 | 269 |
| 264 | New England Revolution | $125,802 | $2,419 | $3,522,468 | 273 |
| 265 | San Jose Earthquakes | $120,802 | $2,323 | $3,624,062 | 272 |
| 266 | Montréal Impact | $118,464 | $2,278 | $3,316,994 | 274 |
| 267 | Sporting Kansas City | $116,786 | $2,246 | $3,270,014 | 275 |
| 268 | Columbus Crew | $89,369 | $1,719 | $2,770,428 | 276 |
So the Union have the sixth-highest payroll in MLS, according to these figures.
On average, MLS teams are in the neighborhood of a lot of Scottish Premier League and Australian Football League teams, along with some lower-level La Liga and Serie A squads.
It's also worth noting that the Crew are the very last team in ESPN's rankings.
The two teams that most draw my eye, though, are Toronto FC and Sporting Kansas City. Toronto is the worst team in MLS despite its high payroll. Sporting Kansas City is one of the best despite spending less then half as much as the Reds.
That said, no MLS team's spending comes anywhere close to what the world's elite clubs splash out. Here are the top 10 payroll figures for all of the soccer teams included in the survey:
| Rank | Team | Avg. annual pay | Avg. weekly pay | Total payroll | Payroll rank |
| 1 | Barcelona | $8,680,569 | $166,934 | $217,024,221 | 1 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | $7,796,637 | $149,935 | $194,915,932 | 3 |
| 3 | Manchester City | $7,403,754 | $142,380 | $185,093,858 | 4 |
| 4 | Chelsea | $6,795,899 | $130,690 | $169,897,463 | 8 |
| 7 | AC Milan | $6,104,769 | $117,399 | $152,619,219 | 10 |
| 8 | Bayern Munich | $5,907,652 | $113,609 | $170,231,332 | 7 |
| 10 | Inter Milan | $5,700,915 | $109,633 | $142,522,871 | 12 |
| 11 | Manchester United | $5,521,423 | $106,181 | $138,035,567 | 14 |
| 16 | Arsenal | $5,280,108 | $101,541 | $132,002,699 | 16 |
| 18 | Liverpool | $5,230,525 | $100,587 | $130,763,119 | 17 |
That's two teams from Spain (Barcelona and Real Madrid); five from England (Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool); two from Italy (AC Milan and Inter Milan); and one from Germany (Bayern Munich).
It's no surprise that Barça and Real top the table, or that Man City is the highest-spending English team. But I find it quite interesting that Manchester United, long one of the world's truly elite teams, is so far down.
Here's another interesting figure: The third-highest-spending Spanish team, Valencia, is all the way down at No. 71, with yearly per-player spending of $3,065,511 and weekly per-player spending of $58,592. Their overall payroll figure of $76,637,764 is ranked No. 75.
For as much as people around the world enjoy watching Barcelona and Real Madrid, the lack of spending by other teams shows how how unbalanced La Liga has become.
The two teams that the Union will face in their summer friendlies this year, Schalke 04 and Aston Villa, are both ranked fairly high.
Schalke is the second-highest-ranked Bundesliga team at No. 34, with yearly per-player spending of $4,187,722 and weekly per-player spending of $80,533. Their overall payroll of $115,844,040 is ranked No. 24.
Aston Villa is the next-ranked English team after Liverpool at No. 41, with yearly per-playre spending of $4,067,464 and weekly per-player spending of $78,220. Their overall payroll of $101,686,591 is ranked No. 47.
(For this, Villa are in 15th place in the Premier League, three points off the relegation zone.)
Finally, here are the top 10 teams overall in ESPN's ranking. Note the presence of a certain baseball club that has won the last five National League East championships.
| Rank | Team | Avg. annual pay | Avg. weekly pay | Total payroll | Payroll rank |
| 1 | Barcelona | $8,680,569 | $166,934 | $217,024,221 | 1 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | $7,796,637 | $149,935 | $194,915,932 | 3 |
| 3 | Manchester City | $7,403,754 | $142,380 | $185,093,858 | 4 |
| 4 | Chelsea | $6,795,899 | $130,690 | $169,897,463 | 8 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | $6,278,088 | $120,732 | $87,893,233 | 63 |
| 6 | New York Yankees | $6,186,322 | $118,968 | $192,962,289 | 2 |
| 7 | AC Milan | $6,104,769 | $117,399 | $152,619,219 | 10 |
| 8 | Bayern Munich | $5,907,652 | $113,609 | $170,231,332 | 7 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Phillies | $5,817,965 | $111,884 | $174,538,938 | 5 |
| 10 | Inter Milan | $5,700,915 | $109,633 | $142,522,871 | 12 |
You can interpret that chart in a lot of ways. The biggest conclusion I draw from it is this:
The Phillies have a bigger payroll than Manchester United.
Seriously. Think about what that means.
The Phillies have a smaller stadium (by nearly 38,000 seats) and not nearly the same level of global brand recognition (which translates to sponsorship and other forms of revenue). But they have a higher payroll - and a higher annual per-player salary figure - than the Red Devils.
You could walk around any major city in the world wearing something with a United logo and it would get recognized. You can't say the same thing about a Phillies cap.
Next time you're chatting with a United fan, mention those numbers. Not that Philadelphia sports fans ever need an excuse to brag, but I think this is a pretty good one.
JT- I realize that this column is about finances, but WHO CARES!? When will the press start calling out Union management for what they did to this team? The guys they brought in, let's see...how to put it diplomatically........THEY STINK! No heart, no hustle, no effort, no touch, etc. This team is playing brutal, unwatchable soccer.
The Eagles can get away with years of no playoffs and 3 and 13 seasons...The Phillies are the professional team in any sport with the most losses....The Flyers can get by with missing the playoffs for over half a decade....and the folks in this town will still support the team because they are part of our DNA. The Union have no such advantage. If this group isn't outta here and fast (please let's start with that stiff Pajoy) I will be. And the Union doesn't want to lose a guy like me. I am not a blind SoB loyalist. But I am a guy that spent money on Atoms tickets and Fury tickets and signed up with the Union before there was a team. If they lose guys like me, that means they will have already lost the new or casual fan and will be left with only those zealots that will pay to watch any soccer. Even the smallish PPL will resemble a tomb when that happens.— RememberTheMaine- LA Galaxy - Herbalife deal is 10-year, $44 million, so that's not 2/3 of their total player salaries.
Arsenal - Emirates deal is £100 million for 15 years (£6.67 million per year), so that's not even close to 2/3 of their total player salaries.
Emirates did not build the stadium, Citizens Bank did not build the park, Lincoln Financial did not build the field. They paid for naming rights.
I was just being lazy, asking the crowd if they knew of any team with the sort of sponsorship deal that the Union have. I don't have time to crunch the numbers for every team on the list. Red Bull GmbH actually owns and operates a couple football teams, so that definitely beats what Bimbo Bakeries is doing. Those other examples, I think not.
JT thanks, I am well aware that we regulate our professional sports in the US differently. Do you find it odd that we profess a love of capitalism, while keeping our pro sports communist (well, whatever you want to call "revenue sharing," I'd call it a communal business practice)? And in Europe, with socialist tendencies, the football leagues are examples of unfettered capitalism?
The question's still out there: who's got a single sponsor covering 2/3 of their entire payroll?— Osager - Now I'm curious how much revenue each team generates.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- With some exceptions, I imagine that most sports franchises have pretty thin profit margins. People don't get rich owning sports teams, the get rich and then own sports teams. — JoeinSouthPhilly
- Not as regards a psychedelic bear, but I think New York's sponsorship with Red Bull is a pretty big deal.— Jonathan Tannenwald
- NY Redbulls are actually an affiliate of RedBull Salzburg in Austria, one of their biggest clubs. The Union are affiliated with Hoffenheim in Germany, LA Galaxy are affiliated with Chelsea...most mls sides are affiliated and have deals with the big European clubs. — illacat215
- Actually Red Bull owns the team.
For what it's worth The Union have the second biggest shirt deal behind only the Galaxy.— JoeinSouthPhilly - The Union shirt deal is not the 2nd biggest in MLS. They are behind LA, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and DC, with Houston not too far behind (a lot of teams' sponsorship deals are undisclosed). — zolo79
The big white psychedelic bear has 2/3 of the Union's salary covered. Is there any team, any league, any where that has a similar deal with a single sponsor?— Osager- Adidas sponsors the mls, in Europe the clubs are sponsored, not the leagues. Nike has major ducketts invested in Man U, Barcelona, Arsenal, PSG etc., while Adidas has Bayern, Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool etc......this doesn't even include the sponsors on their jersey's.....Samsung, Phillips, Fly Emirates much bigger companies than Bimbo! — illacat215
- There are many other teams in many different leagues all over the world with similar or better deals with sponsors. In MLS alone there are a least 5 teams with better deals than the Union/psychedelic bear deal. — zolo79
- When Arsenal played Milan in the second leg of their UCL draw- both teams wore "Fly Emirates" kits and played in a stadium called "The Emirates".
That probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Union only got $12million for 4 years.
And here's something else- the big white psychedelic bear sponsors other teams, including Monterrey, who certainly earn more as they are the best club in North and Central America.
— JoeinSouthPhilly - and club gringo and chivas. — illacat215
- Ed, that's a great point about gate receipts. I suspect, though, that Man U. makes up for the difference with sponsorship and TV revenue. I don't know that for certain, but considering how much money the Premier League and Champions League bring in from TV rights, I would think it's at least probable.— Jonathan Tannenwald
- Liberty Bell, please, please take your meds.— syddan26
Comment removed.- Very interesting article. I think what you can take out of this is what the MLS really represents. It is a lower tier professional soccer league that has few world class players (Henry,Beckham and Donovan are the obvious exceptions). If you would categorize it against an American sport, it probably closest represents Double A or maybe high A league minor league baseball. Effectively, Union fans are paying good money for minor league soccer. This is why the LeToux deal still makes no sense. The Union should be more concerned with establishing an identity that fans can related with and stop trying to emulate top tier European teams with long term talent development. The MLS is what it is and Union management dropped the ball last off season.— syddan26
- true, the mls is comparable to the European second and third divisions and will always be. Most players in mls are looking to get a start and maybe a European contract, and thats what it should be about. The mls should look to develop young talent and then sell them overseas, similar to the Dutch Eirdevise. The mls will never match the big European leagues like the EPL and La Liga, and are kidding themselves if they think they can compare. The only sport in America that deals with $$$$ the big European clubs do is baseball, and they still don't even compare. — illacat215
- Re: the Phillies having a smaller stadium than Manchester United, they also have many more games. According to ESPN, the attendance total for home games at Old Trafford for the last complete season (2010-2011) was 1,427,077. For Citizens Bank Park, the total for the 2011 season was 3,680,718.— Ed Farnsworth
- the post is not about meny earned, it's about money spent
some clubs spend rather a lot more than they have
there's even a recent rule in Europe that basically says a football club can't spend more money than it has, and this rule is often described as "controversial"— Osager - That's a fair point, Osager, but it's not as true in the big four American sports as it is in European soccer. United's limited spending is in part a function of their debt service payments from when the Glazers bought the team. But they still make a ton of money, as do all the other European clubs. That won't change when Financial Fair Play (the rule you're referring to) comes into effect.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
