Tranquillo Barnetta's salary was revealed Tuesday,
making him the second highest-paid Union player. (AP)

Tuesday brought the biannual release of salary figures by the MLS Players Union (pdf), which provides us with an update on the Philadelphia Union’s wage bill. Here are the numbers for the Union:

(In alphabetical order, base salary listed, guaranteed compensation in parenthesis if different)

1. Fernando Aristeguieta $350,004 (young designated player; cap hit $200,000)
2. Maurice Edu $700,000 ($768,750 – designated player; cap hit $436,250)
3. Tranquillo Barnetta $624,000 ($661,500 – NOT a DP, but max cap hit is $436,250)
4. Fred $60,000
5. Brian Carroll $150,000
6. Conor Casey $180,000
7. Warren Creavalle $108,500 ($119,000)
8. Fabinho $114,000 ($118,500)
9. Ray Gaddis $130,000 ($132,500)
10. Antoine Hoppenot $60,000

11. Michael Lahoud $108,900 ($112,233)
12. Sebastien Le Toux $275,000 ($285,228)
13. Cristian Maidana $203,500 ($217,250)
14. Richie Marquez $60,000
15. Vincent Nogueira $330,000
16. CJ Sapong $125,000 ($142,000)
17. Steven Vitoria $400,000
18. Andrew Wenger $180,000 ($282,000)
19. Ethan White $125,000
20. – vacant –

21. Andre Blake $85,000 ($123,000 – Generation Adidas)
22. Jimmy McLaughlin $60,000 (Homegrown Player)
23. Zach Pfeffer $60,000 (Homegrown Player)
24. Eric Bird $60,000
25. Dzenan Catic $60,000 ($75,000)
26. Eric Ayuk $50,000
27. John McCarthy $60,000 ($66,250)
28. Brian Sylvestre $60,000

Inactive
Austin Berry $93,519 ($108,519)
Danny Cruz $125,000 ($131,667)
Leo Fernandez $60,000

Off book
Zac MacMath $130,000 (paid by Colorado via intra-league loan)

Totals Union salary cap (Totals for players 1-20): $3,682,400
Union base salaries (Totals for players 1-28): $4,365,150
Union total compensation (including inactive roster): $5,408,401
- The obvious number is Tranquillo Barnetta’s salary, which checks in at $624,000 base. Since Barnetta is not a designated player, that salary has been paid down using targeted allocation money (and perhaps general allocation money) to under the DP threshold of $436,250. That would seem to indicate that that Union will use a sizeable portion of the $500k TAM allocated over the next five years on Barnetta, but again, that doesn’t factor in if or how much general allocation money is used.

- The other addition this summer is Warren Creavalle, who makes a very respectable salary for a mid-level, American-born veteran.

- The only other change, save for arrivals and departures, is that John McCarthy’s salary, both base and guaranteed, has been bumped $10k. He was at $50k/$56,250 in the July filings. Not sure if that's just an oversight in the previous one or if something has changed in his contract status. 

- It’s important to note that the Union only have 27 players on the roster at the moment. That leaves 19 on-budget players, as spots 19 and 20 are optional. As explained previously, there is fluidity in who occupies the on- and off-budget spots since the Union have more minimum-salary players than can fill spots 21-28.

- In terms of total compensation (this is the last number of the three listed), the Union are 14th in MLS. That placement is a poor determinant of success, it appears.

- Here’s how the numbers compare to July’s filings (pdf):

Union salary cap (Totals for players 1-20): $3,692,650
Union base salaries (Totals for players 1-28): $4,117,650
Union total compensation (including inactive roster): $5,578,401

The cap hit has been reduced by just a shade less than $10k. The total outlay of base salaries for on-budget players is down nearly $250,000, while the total compensation paid out to players on and off budget has been reduced by $170k. That reflects the massive subtractions made by the departures of Rais M’Bolhi and Carlos Valdes this summer. Through that summer window, the Union have arguably strengthened the side while streamlining the wage bill. That constitutes a purposeful summer from the business side.