Major League Soccer players’ salaries for 2017 were released Tuesday by the MLS Players Union. For the third year in a row, Orlando City’s Kaka leads all players in MLS with more than $7 million in annual earnings.
The in the top 20 highest paid: Goalkeeper Tim Howard ($2.48 million) came in at No. 11 overall and Albanian attacker Shkelzen Gashi ($1.67 million) was No. 20. The Rapids’ Irish international striker Kevin Doyle eclipsed the seven-figure mark, earning $1.05 million.
The, according to the players union figures, dropping four slots from 2016. , Portland, expansion side Atlanta and Vancouver all passed Colorado in payroll this season. The guaranteed compensation earned by Colorado’s players in 2017 is $452,967 less than a year ago at this time, however, the Rapids could still add players as the transfer window remains open until May 8, then reopens for a month during the summer.
Top 20 highest-paid players in MLS in 2017
| Name | Pos | Club | Base Salary | Compensation |
| 1. Kaka | M | ORL | $6,660,000.00 | $7,167,500.00 |
| 2. Sebastian Giovinco | F | TOR | $5,600,000.00 | $7,115,555.67 |
| 3. Michael Bradley | M | TOR | $6,000,000.00 | $6,500,000.00 |
| 4. Andrea Pirlo | M | NYCFC | $5,600,000.00 | $5,915,690.00 |
| 5. David Villa | F | NYCFC | $5,610,000.00 | $5,610,000.00 |
| 6. Giovani Dos Santos | F | LA | $3,750,000.00 | $5,500,000.00 |
| 7. Bastian Schweinsteiger | M | CHI | $5,400,000.00 | $5,400,000.00 |
| 8. Jozy Altidore | F | TOR | $4,875,000.00 | $4,875,000.00 |
| 9. Clint Dempsey | F | SEA | $3,200,000.00 | $3,892,933.50 |
| 10. Diego Valeri | M | POR | $2,227,500.00 | $2,607,500.00 |
| 11. Tim Howard | GK | COL | $2,000,000.00 | $2,475,000.00 |
| 12. Miguel Almiron | M | ATL | $1,912,500.00 | $2,297,000.00 |
| 13. Maximiliano Moralez | M | NYCFC | $2,000,000.04 | $2,000,000.04 |
| 14. Romain Alessandrini | M | LA | $1,669,400.64 | $1,999,400.64 |
| 15. Yura Movsisyan | F | RSL | $1,750,000.00 | $1,973,750.00 |
| 16. Nemanja Nikolic | F | CHI | $1,700,000.04 | $1,906,333.37 |
| 17. Fredy Montero | F | VAN | $1,400,000.04 | $1,800,000.04 |
| 18. Nicolas Lodeiro | M | SEA | $1,371,428.57 | $1,743,428.57 |
| 19. Fanendo Adi | F | POR | $1,190,004.00 | $1,736,254.00 |
| 20. Shkelzen Gashi | F | COL | $1,575,000.00 | $1,668,750.00 |
