The U.S. will take on Germany today at noon ET in their last group stage World Cup match in Brazil. The Americans need a draw to be sure of advancing and would top the group with a win.
Right now though the only even thing about the two teams is that they sit atop Group G with 4 points each. FIFA rankings, market values of the teams, and a U.S. coach who happens to be a former German national player and head coach all provide a general sense that Germany has the edge.
If salary is an approximate indicator of talent and experience, consider this: the combined paycheck of the three highest-paid German national players is more than what the entire U.S. squad earns.
Mesut Ozil, who made a total of $18 million in the last year to rank as the tenth highest paid World Cup player, collected $12.5 million in wages from his club Arsenal after they shelled out a record $65 million on transfer deadline day in September to pick the playmaker up from Real Madrid. National team captain Philipp Lahm and bench starter Bastian Schweinsteiger each took home $13 million from their club Bayern Munich.
In comparison, collectively the USMNT took home $26 million in salary and bonus from their clubs in the last twelve months.
Clint Dempsey, or Captain America as he refers to himself on his upcoming sophomore rap album titled The Redux under his artist name “Deuce”, is U.S. soccer’s top paid World Cup player. He has earned $7.8 million in the last 12 months from the Seattle Sounders after he transferred for a record $9 million fee from Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League in August.
His contract is worth a guaranteed league-high $6.7 million this season – an amount that he is helping finance by having the current best- selling MLS jersey. That’s half Germany sub Schweinsteiger’s pay. A bright spot is the 31-year old Texan native is identifiable and relatable enough to the public to be able to cash in on lucrative endorsements from the likes of Nike, Pepsi, and Upper Deck.
The team captain’s stock soared after he scored his first goal in the World Cup against Ghana at the 34-second mark, the fastest goal scored in U.S. tournament history. It is estimated he will make at least $11 million this year between club and sponsors, an amount that includes a $76,000 minimum bonus from US Soccer for making the World Cup squad.
Michael Bradley, the son of former USMNT head coach Bob Bradley, ranks right behind Dempsey in terms of salary. He joined Toronto FC from AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A in January and is guaranteed $6.5 million this season. Between the two clubs, the midfielder earned $4.7 million in wages in the last twelve months.
Only seven on the 23-man USMNT roster make over $1 million in salary a year. Omar Gonzalez is the only other among these millionaires World Cup players on an MLS roster. The 25-year old defender out of the University of Maryland is guaranteed $1.25 million this season from the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Jozy Altidore makes the most playing out of country for Sunderland in the English Premier League. The forward made $3.2 million playing for the Black Cats last season. After straining his left hamstring in the U.S. opening 2-1 win against Ghana, the 25-year old failed to play Portugal on Sunday and has been ruled out of the match against Germany.
Ten players on the roster play at home in MLS. One among them is also the least paid on the entire World Cup squad. DeAndre Yedlin, a 20-year old defender and second youngest on the team, is guaranteed $92,000 from the Seattle Sounders this season.
The good news is that disparity in pay has yet to be reflective of a disparity in the U.S. team’s effort compared to its competition.
Case in point is the squad’s 2-2 draw with Portugal, ranked No. 4 in the world by FIFA and home of highest-paid soccer player and second highest-paid athlete in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese striker is reigning world player of the year, a two-time winner of the sport’s top honor, and holder of dozens of club and country goal-scoring records. He is also good looking enough to be featured on the celebrity-/model-coveted cover of the Spanish edition of Vogue, in addition to Sports Illustrated, in the nude. With 88 million Facebook fans and 27.3 million Twitter followers, his social media following trumps all athletes in the world.
Ronaldo is handsomely paid in return. Of the $80 million the 29-year old raked in last year, $52 million was in the form of salary and bonus from his club, Real Madrid – more than double the combined salary of the entire 23-man U.S. roster.
Portugal sits at the bottom of the Group G standings, with only 1 point and a -4 goal differential.
To compile our lists of U.S. Soccer’s Top Paid World Cup Players and The Highest Paid World Cup Players we reviewed public salary information provided by MLS Players Union, and spoke with players’ agents, talent agencies, commercial sponsors and soccer experts in the U.S. and Europe. For U.S. players figures are pre-tax wages only, for the 12-month period ending May 31. Foreign amounts were converted to U.S. dollars using an average currency exchange rate over the same time frame.
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