Examining the LA Galaxy roster following the first 2023 MLSPA salary list release

The MLS Players Association released its biannual salary guide on Tuesday for the first time in 2023. MLS clubs do not give salary figures for players but MLSPA makes it simple to know just how much each club is spending on its players. 

From an LA Galaxy perspective, the club has the second most expensive roster with $23,463,025 in player contracts. The club currently sits 13th in the Western Conference standings. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez ranks as the third highest-paid player in the league with a guaranteed compensation of $7,443,750. Here is a look at some notable figures from Tuesday's release. 

Efraín Álvarez

Base salary, $660,000; calculated guaranteed compensation, $766,500

After stating this needed to be his breakout year with the LA Galaxy during the preseason, it’s not gone that way in 2023. Álvarez started the club's first three games of the season but has been relegated to the bench since. He’s been an unused substitute in five of the Galaxy's last seven matches across all competitions. For the sixth highest-paid player on the roster, it’s been underwhelming to see his minutes fall so early in the campaign.

Jalen Neal

Base salary, $125,000; calculated guaranteed compensation, $138,625

When it comes to getting the most bang for the buck, the Galaxy is seeing that with Jalen Neal. After checking into the first game of the season as a substitute, Neal has been accustomed to being a starter ever since. He’s one of four players on the team to appear in all 11 games this season plus he started in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory over Seattle. At 19, he leads MLS with a 94.2% pass completion rate and has already scored his first goal for G’s in front of the home crowd this season.

A LOOK BACK AT 2022: How did the LA Galaxy payroll look?

Uri Rosell

Base salary, $500,000; calculated guaranteed compensation, $500,000

The Galaxy brought in Rosell as depth for the club's strong midfield. He’s made four appearances through 11 MLS matches and accumulated a total of 52 minutes played for the club – the lowest amount of minutes on the team roster among players with at least one start. In his lone start of the season at home versus Colorado, he was subbed out at halftime as he wasn’t the best fit alongside the other midfield starters. Rosell has played over 900 minutes just once in the last three MLS seasons – that being the previous season. He was paid $475,000 in his final season with Sporting Kansas City before joining the Galaxy this past offseason.

UPDATE: A Galaxy spokesperson told The Striker that the club is paying Rosell $85,444 instead of the reported $500,000 by the MLSPA. Rosell was waived by SKC in early January and cleared waivers before joining the Galaxy. SKC is paying Rosell around $415,000 despite him not being on their roster.

Douglas Costa

Base salary, $3,000,000; calculated guaranteed compensation, $4,508,333

As the second highest-paid player in the club and seventh highest-paid in the league, it makes Costa’s start to 2023 more disappointing. After recovering from a calf injury for most of the season, the Brazilian got himself a red card in just his second appearance back into the squad. In his first start of the season versus Orlando City, Costa came off early due to a leg injury and according to Vanney, he will be out for three to four weeks. He’s played a total of 109 minutes and only played with fellow designated players Riqui Puig and Chicharito for 29 minutes during the Galaxy's match versus Houston on April 8.

READ MORE: Why Douglas Costa is not working out for the LA Galaxy

Tyler Boyd

Base salary, $275,000; calculated guaranteed compensation, $350,000

Like Neal, Boyd has appeared in every match for the LA Galaxy this season. He’s been a reliable winger that can start or come off the bench for Vanney. His spectacular long-range goal versus LAFC showed he’s got potential and can be a special player for the club. He’s yet to put it all together but his form in recent matches shows positive trends in his game. 

Other Notes

Bench center backs

With Neal becoming a locked-in starter next to Martin Caceres; Séga Coulibaly and Chris Mavinga will have to work extremely hard to get minutes as starters. The duo is the second and third-high most expensive center backs on the team behind Caceres ($556,671 in guaranteed compensation).

For Coulibaly, who has a guaranteed compensation of $517,000, this season has seen him fall down the pecking order after a much improved 2022 campaign. At the start of the season, he flew to France for personal reasons and since has appeared in just three games, playing a total of 88 minutes. His only start came in the loss to the Colorado Rapids when he was forced to leave the game just 27 minutes into the matchup.

Chris Mavinga, who has a guaranteed compensation of $452,496, started in the club’s first game of the year. It’s been hard for the 31-year-old to find the pitch since Neal's been the club's starter. Mavinga's only other start of the season came in the club’s 3-2 loss to LAFC. He was forced to leave the game early to injury and is set to miss three to four weeks. Mavinga has accumulated 215 minutes in six appearances this season and looks set to be a substitute going forward due to the ascension of Neal. On the bright side, he took a pay cut to join the Galaxy as he made $1,037,500 in guaranteed compensation in his final season with Toronto FC.

The new fullbacks

Both Julian Aude and Lucas Calegari were brought to the club through the league's U22 initiative. Aude was bought and given a contract until the end of the 2027 MLS season while Calegari is on loan from Fluminense FC with a reported $2 million purchase option.

Aude has guaranteed compensation of $492,000 for his first season with the Galaxy. He did a great job locking down Cristian Espinoza in the recent 2-1 win in the Cali Clasico at home. He’s already scored his first goal for the club in the team victory in the Open Cup over Seattle. Through his five appearances with the club, he’s been a big upgrade at the left back spot.

Calegari has a guaranteed compensation of $611,564 which makes him the highest-paid player among the Galaxy backline. He’s appeared in eight games for the club and played the sixth-highest minutes on the roster with 716. Replacing Julian Araujo was going to be tough for the Galaxy but Calegari has fit the position extremely well for Vanney. 

The new guys

Here's an overview of the guaranteed compensation for the new players on the Galaxy roster this season.