2024 Houston Dynamo salaries released

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

The Major League Soccer Players Association released their 2024 salary guide today. The MLSPA usually releases these numbers twice a year, which show each player’s base salary and guaranteed compensation.

The Houston Dynamo currently have the 10th highest salary total in MLS, spending $17,768,222, a slight decrease from last season. Hector Herrera is the eighth highest player in the league in guaranteed compensation at $5,246,875. He sits behind Lionel Messi, Lorenzo Insigne, Sergio Busquets, Xherdan Shaqiri, Sebastian Driussi, Federico Bernardeschi, and Emil Forsberg.

The Dynamo are currently using all three of their designated player spots but have some flexibility there, as well as in U22 slots. Let’s look at all the players on the roster. All numbers will be guaranteed compensation. Of note, Houston is covering salary on Tim Parker, who is now playing with St. Louis CITY SC, for one more season. You can see all the player salaries at this link.

Designated Players

Hector Herrera - $5,246,875 (same as last year)

Sebastian Ferreira - $2,290,200 ($2,130,000 last year)

Erik Sviatchenko - $824,996 ($460,532 last year)

Herrera backed up his huge salary with an MLS Best XI selection last year. He has missed a good chunk of the early part of this season, but it is very apparent how important he is to the Dynamo. Ferreira has continued to be a disappointment this season with his inability to stay healthy. At this point, his contract is not movable, unless a buyout occurs. Sviatchenko is currently a DP just for accounting purposes. The Dynamo can use allocation money to buy him off the DP label and open a spot to use on a big signing this summer.

Starter Money

Artur - $783,375 ($651,633 last year)

Latif Blessing - $715,000 ($665,000 last year)

Steve Clark - $684,281 ($619,281 last year)

Adalberto Carrasquilla - $658,750 ($550,224 last year)

Amine Bassi - $605,000 ($550,000)

Griffin Dorsey - $529,667 ($169,000)

Franco Escobar - $524,167 (same as last year)

Sebastian Kowalczyk - $530,618 ($155,062 last year)

Aliyu Ibrahim - $501,379 ($474,383 last year)

These are the other players on the Dynamo roster making over half a million. Most of them are starters and have played many minutes this season. Blessing and his big salary joined the team earlier this season via trade and he has started to see increased minutes of late. Artur, Bassi, and Escobar are all new to the team this year. Coco got a nice bump in pay with his new contract. Dorsey also got a huge raise after signing his new deal this offseason to stay in Houston.

250k and Up

Daniel Steres - $498,425 ($402,175 last year)

Brad Smith - $471,249 ($416,875 last year)

Andrew Tarbell - $280,000 (same as last year)

Ethan Bartlow - $260,000 ($135,000)

Nelson Quinones - $252,890 ($237,890)

This group of players making between $250k and $500k is a very interesting one with depth pieces that are expected to contribute often. Steres has been solid whenever called upon on the back line. Smith is making a lot of money to be a one-dimensional super sub, but that is basically what he is at this point in his career. Bartlow, like Steres, has been up to the task when needed and gives the Dynamo one of the deepest center back groups in the league. Quinones is unfortunately out for the season with a knee injury.

Six Figures

Jan Gregus - $170,313 ($266,750 last year)

Tate Schmitt - $150,000 ($85,444 last year)

Micael - $149,250 ($134,250 last year)

McKinze Gaines - $122,750 ($102,750 last year)

Brooklyn Raines - $118,063 ($103,507 last year)

Micael might be one of the biggest bargains in all of MLS. The Brazilian center back got moved into the starting lineup last season and has been a rock ever since. A move overseas, and a big pay raise, could be coming soon for him. The other players on this list are depth pieces that teams in this league need with the fixture congestion and long season. Gregus took a pay decrease after leaving Nashville last season and signing with Houston. Schmitt got a big bump in pay for 2024. Gaines was acquired via trade recently and hasn’t been on the field much, at all. Raines seems to be a mainstay with Dynamo 2 right now, and not the senior team.

The Kids

Xavier Valdez - $99,427 ($95,155 last year)

Stephen Annor - $85,151 (rookie)

Kieran Sargeant - $73,594 (rookie)

Gabe Segal - $71,401 ($67,360 last year)

Ousmane Sylla - $71,401 (rookie)

This group of players is made up of young guys on the fringes of the roster. Valdez is playing every match with Dynamo 2, waiting for his shot with the senior team behind the two veteran goalkeepers. Annor and Sylla were the Dynamo’s two SuperDraft picks this year and have shown a lot of upside with Dos. Sargeant, a Homegrown, has also played well with the second team this year. Segal has bounced between both teams and has yet to find a goal-scoring rhythm.

What do you think of the salaries? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @BayouCitySoccer.