How much the Crew is spending on its 2026 roster
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Striker Wessam Abou Ali is the Crew's top scorer and highest earner, but is out for the season with a torn ACL. Photo: Jason Mowry/MLS via Getty Images
The Crew has a top 10 MLS player salary even as the team sits in the bottom half of league standings.
Driving the news: The Major League Soccer Players Association released its latest salary guide this week, detailing player compensation across the league.
The big picture: Columbus' $22.3 million salary figure is the ninth highest in the league.
- That's within a few million of most teams, except LAFC ($32.6 million) and the massive, league-topping Inter Miami ($54.6 million).
Stunning stat: Miami's Lionel Messi is paid more alone than nearly every other team's total.
- He's getting a whopping $28.3 million in guaranteed compensation during the 2026 season.
Zoom in: Columbus' three designated players are the team's highest earners.
- Striker Wessam Abou Ali ($3.6 million) is followed by attacker Diego Rossi ($3.5 million) and midfielder Dániel Gazdag ($2.6 million).
Between the lines: For insight into the team's early season struggles, look no further than those three.
- Abou Ali tore his ACL in April.
- Rossi, the team's best player in 2025, is having a down season with just four goals and one assist.
- Gazdag has started just four of 12 matches this season, contributing one goal and one assist.
Yes, but: There are bargains, too.
- Columbus-born star Taha Habroune, a 20-year-old, has been a revelation while earning just $152,000.
- André Gomes, the team's marquee offseason signing and a former Everton and Barcelona player, is making less than $1 million.