Roster rules
What the rules let an MLS club spend, as the league published them each season. The salary budget is the cap: what a club's roster may count against it. No player counts more than the maximum budget charge, so a club pays above it only through its Designated Players, who count the maximum whatever they earn, or by buying a player's charge down with allocation money, which the league hands out each year. The minimums are the least a player on the senior and the reserve roster may be paid.
| season | salary budget | maximum charge | senior minimum | reserve minimum | DP slots | GAM | TAM | roster | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $6,425,000 | $803,125 | $113,400 | $88,025 | 3 | $3,280,000 | $2,125,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2025 | $5,950,000 | $743,750 | $104,000 | $80,622 | 3 | $2,930,000 | $2,225,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2024 | $5,470,000 | $683,750 | $89,716 | $71,401 | 3 | $2,585,000 | $2,400,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2023 | $5,210,000 | $651,250 | $85,444 | $67,360 | 3 | $1,900,000 | $2,720,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2022 | $4,900,000 | $612,500 | $84,000 | $65,500 | 3 | $1,625,000 | $2,800,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2021 | $4,900,000 | $612,500 | $81,375 | $63,547 | 3 | $1,525,000 | $2,800,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2020 | $4,900,000 | $612,500 | $81,375 | $63,547 | 3 | $1,525,000 | $2,800,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2019 | $4,240,000 | $530,000 | $70,250 | $56,250 | 3 | $200,000 | $4,000,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2018 | $4,035,000 | $504,375 | $67,500 | $54,500 | 3 | $200,000 | $4,000,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2017 | $3,845,000 | $480,625 | $65,000 | $53,000 | 3 | $200,000 | $1,200,000 | 30 | 1 |
| 2016 | $3,660,000 | $457,500 | $62,500 | $51,500 | 3 | $150,000 | $800,000 | 28 | 1 2 |
| 2015 | $3,490,000 | $436,250 | $60,000 | $50,000 | 3 | $150,000 | $500,000 | 28 | 1 2 |
| 2014 | $3,100,000 | $387,500 | $48,500 | $36,500 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 1 |
| 2013 | $2,950,000 | $368,750 | $46,500 | $35,125 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 1 |
| 2012 | $2,810,000 | $350,000 | $44,000 | $33,750 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 1 |
| 2011 | $2,675,000 | $335,000 | $42,000 | $32,600 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 1 |
| 2010 | $2,550,000 | — | $40,000 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 1996 | $1,200,000 | $192,500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Figures are per club, as the league's roster rules stated them that season. GAM and TAM are General and Targeted Allocation Money, each club's annual allotment; clubs also gain and trade allocation money in deals, which this leaves out. DP slots are the Designated Players a club may carry. A gap is a figure not found in that season's rules, or a rule that did not yet exist. The salary budget is also drawn against club payrolls on the league page.