LOS ANGELES — The Galaxy have the second-highest team payroll and the second-highest-paid player in MLS, according to salary figures released Tuesday by the players' union.
The team's wage bill of $20.53 million is about $470,000 less than Atlanta United's total of $20.99 million. But it's more than $200,000 greater than last season's salary figure, which led MLS.
Individually, Galaxy captain Javier "Chicharito" Hernández will make $6 million this season, trailing only the Chicago Fire's Xherdan Shaqiri, who will be paid a league-record $8.153 million in guaranteed compensation.
LAFC's Carlos Vela, who was the best-paid player in MLS last season, saw his guaranteed compensation trimmed by $2.25 million to $4.05 million. That's still seventh best in the league. LAFC's team payroll of $14.56 million, $1.2 million less than last year, ranks 11th in the league.
The Galaxy are paying the 29 players on their roster an average of $707,863 while the 28 men on LAFC's roster are earning an average of $520,847.
The union says the average base salary for senior roster non-designated players this season rose 10.3%, to $438,728, continuing a trend of double-digit growth over the past five seasons. Fifty players will make at least $1.5 million this season.
With the Galaxy spending big on Hernández and Brazilian Douglas Costa — whose guaranteed salary of $3 million is 16th highest in MLS — the team is spending more on forwards — $12.45 million — than any other club. But they have gotten little return from that investment with 12 goals in 11 games, the Galaxy have outscored just six of the league's 28 teams.
Besides Hernández and Costa, the Galaxy have one other millionaire in designated player Kévin Cabral, who will make $1.65 million. Forward Preston Judd is the team's lowest-paid player at $65,500 while midfielder Sacha Kljestan took a pay cut of more than $163,000, to $84,000.
For LAFC, the best-paid player after Vela is U.S. national team midfielder Kellyn Acosta, whose guaranteed compensation is $1.215 million. The team has two other millionaires in midfielder Ilie Sánchez ($1.15 million) and forward Brian Rodríguez ($1.45 million). The lowest-paid player is forward Cal Jennings with a salary of $84,000.
The team getting the most for its money is Real Salt Lake, which is fifth in the Western Conference standings with a payroll of $10.477 million. That breaks down to $551,466 a point. Chicago, which is last in the Eastern Conference with 10 points, is spending more than three times as much per point with a payroll topping $17.65 million.
