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MLS Salaries: Top 3 Vancouver Whitecaps over & under paid players

By Gareth Wolff

Mar 2, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver Whitecaps forward Fredy Montero (12) celebrates his goal with midfielder Russel Tiebert (31) against New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles (31) (not pictured) during the second half at BC Place Stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver Whitecaps forward Fredy Montero (12) celebrates his goal with midfielder Russel Tiebert (31) against New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles (31) (not pictured) during the second half at BC Place Stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 2, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver Whitecaps forward Fredy Montero (12) celebrates his goal with midfielder Russel Tiebert (31) against New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles (31) (not pictured) during the second half at BC Place Stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver Whitecaps forward Fredy Montero (12) celebrates his goal with midfielder Russel Tiebert (31) against New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles (31) (not pictured) during the second half at BC Place Stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 MLS player salaries are out. Who’s overpaid and who’s underpaid in the Vancouver Whitecaps squad?

The Major League Soccer Players Union released the 2017 MLS player salaries last week. That means it’s time for the annual amazement at the disparity between what the league’s rookies earn and what the top DPs make in a year. This year, the difference between the highest and lowest earner is approximately $7.1 million.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are in the middle of the pack when it comes to salaries. At $1.8 million, Fredy Montero is the highest paid ‘Cap but not even close to the likes of Orlando’s Kaká ($7.2 million guaranteed compensation) or Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco (7.1 million). The graphs below show where the ‘Caps rank: ninth for total salary and 11th for average salary.

There are many arguments to be made around whether such massive pay differences should exist in the league, as well as how this level of transparency can affect players. But it does give the fans an opportunity to decide who is overpaid and who is underpaid. So, here is my completely subjective assessment of who in the Whitecaps team is a bargain, and who is decidedly not.

Note that there are two salary numbers released: “base salary” and “guaranteed compensation”. I’ve used guaranteed compensation, which includes signing and all other guaranteed bonuses (so not including performance bonuses), to make my judgements.

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