A wide variety of leagues exist in the world of professional soccer, each with its own history, rules, and economics.



When compared to the traditional club structure of the Championship, Major League Soccer’s wage cap and single-entity structure encourage financial stability and parity, respectively. Knowing how teams in these two major leagues on different continents use resources and pay players can shed light on the state of the global game.



The competitiveness and appeal of both global soccer leagues will be heavily influenced by the shifting nature of club payrolls as both leagues continue to develop. Here we examine the economics of the <a href="https://www.worldsoccertalk.com/championship-tv-schedule">English Football League (EFL) Championship</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-mls-on-us-tv-and-internet/">Major League Soccer (MLS)</a> to draw comparisons between the salaries of the teams in both leagues.



<h5>MLS is single organization</h5>



In contrast to other soccer leagues throughout the globe, Major League Soccer is organized as a single organization. Under this system, rather than individual teams, all player contracts would belong to the league.



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Since the league foots the bill for player pay, teams need not worry about outbidding one another in the salary market. The original intent of this method was to prevent clubs from becoming bankrupt due to excessive expenditure. To prevent a small number of teams from dominating the league financially, MLS places a wage ceiling on all clubs.



<h2>Comparing MLS payrolls to Championship clubs</h2>



However, in the English Football League Championship, each team is responsible for its own budgeting and administrative tasks. Teams are allowed to set their terms when it comes to player contracts, transfer fees, and salaries.



The Championship does not have a wage cap on payrolls like MLS. Therefore, teams with more financial resources may compete for and sign higher-profile players. In fact, English clubs dominate the top positions with six out of the top eight spots, while MLS clubs show a strong presence, occupying 17 out of the top 25 spots in the ranking, as per <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS_Buzzhttps://twitter.com/MLS_Buzz/status/1686549211607642112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MLS Buzz</a>.



<ol><li>Leicester City: $79.7m</li><li>Southampton: $66.7m</li><li>Leeds United: $55m</li><li>West Bromwich Albion: $26m</li><li>Toronto: $25.7m</li><li>Watford: $23.9m</li><li>LA Galaxy: $23.5m</li><li>Norwich City: $22.6m</li><li>Atlanta: $21.3m</li><li>D.C United: $20m</li><li>Austin FC: $19.9m</li><li>Chicago: $19.5m</li><li>Seattle: $18.9m</li><li>New England: $18.9m</li><li>Miami: $18.1m</li><li>Los Angeles FC: $17.5m</li><li>Houston: $17.3m</li><li>Cardiff City: $17m</li><li>Columbus: $16.1m</li><li>Kansas City: $15.5m</li><li>New York City: $15.5m</li><li>Cincinnati: $15.1m</li><li>Bristol City: $15m</li><li>Portland: $14.5m</li><li>Dallas: $14.4m</li><li>Middlesbrough: $14.2m</li><li>Nashville: $14m</li><li>Charlotte: $13.5m</li><li>Hull City: $13.4m</li><li>Colorado: $13.1m</li><li>San Jose: $13m</li><li>Philadelphia: $12.8m</li><li>Vancouver: $12.7m</li><li>Minnesota: $12.3m</li><li>Sheffield Wednesday: $12.4m</li><li>Huddersfield Town: $12.1m</li><li>Salt Lake: $12.1m</li><li>Swansea City: $11.6m</li><li>Birmingham City: $11.3m</li><li>Orlando: $11.2m</li><li>New York Red Bulls: $11.2m</li><li>Preston North End: $11m</li><li>St. Louis: $10.9m</li><li>Ipswich Town: $10.6m</li><li>Montreal: $10.5m</li><li>Stoke City: $10m</li><li>Sunderland: $9.1m</li><li>Millwall: $8.6m</li><li>Blackburn Rovers: $8.5m</li><li>Queens Park Rangers: $8.4m</li><li>Rotherham United: $6.4m</li><li>Coventry City: $5.2m</li><li>Plymouth Argyle: $2.9m</li></ol>

Here we examine the economics of the Championship and MLS to draw comparisons between the payrolls of the teams in both leagues.

Comparison of team payrolls between MLS and Championship

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The World Cup is edging towards the conclusion of its group stage, so MLS gets ready for a return to action soon.
Before that, the MLS Players Union released the salaries for the 406 players under contract with MLS clubs for the 2010 season.
The Galaxy’s David Beckham, ruptured Achilles and all, is still No. 1 with a salary of $6.5 million. His teammate Landon Donovan ($2,127,778) is second and the Red Bulls’ Juan Pablo Angel ($1,918,000) is third.
Toronto’s Julian de Guzman ($1,717,546) and Seattle’s Freddie Ljungberg ($1,314,000) round out the top five.
<a title="salaries" href="http:\/\/www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.html" target="_blank">For the complete list, click here.</a>
Regular season games resume on Friday.
<a title="schedule" href="http:\/\/soccernet.espn.go.com/fixtures?league=usa.1&amp;cc=5901" target="_blank">Here’s the schedule</a> and <a title="table" href="http:\/\/soccernet.espn.go.com/tables?league=usa.1&amp;cc=5901" target="_blank">here’s the table.</a>

ALL POSTS TAGGED "MLS salaries"

Leagues: Championship

Comparison of team payrolls between MLS and Championship

Leagues: MLS

MLS Players Union Releases 2010 Salaries