Chicago Fire payroll
What Chicago Fire paid its players in each season on record. The club's games, rosters and history are at soccerstats.us.
Seasons on record
| season | players | total pay | highest paid | pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | $21,733,136 | Jonathan Bamba | $5,581,806 |
| 2025 | 34 | $23,111,027 | Jonathan Bamba | $5,581,806 |
| 2024 | 31 | $17,224,012 | Hugo Cuypers | $3,528,044 |
| 2023 | 31 | $20,415,828 | Xherdan Shaqiri | $8,153,000 |
| 2022 | 29 | $19,355,763 | Xherdan Shaqiri | $8,153,000 |
| 2021 | 29 | $13,035,568 | Robert Beric | $2,703,164 |
| 2020 | 32 | $12,631,979 | Robert Beric | $2,703,164 |
| 2019 | 28 | $17,114,981 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | $5,600,000 |
| 2018 | 28 | $15,531,523 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | $6,100,000 |
| 2017 | 30 | $13,089,574 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | $5,400,000 |
| 2016 | 26 | $4,303,902 | David Accam | $770,938 |
| 2015 | 26 | $5,843,614 | Gilberto Junior | $1,144,992 |
| 2014 | 29 | $3,771,132 | Mike Magee | $417,500 |
| 2013 | 33 | $4,963,357 | Egidio Rios | $768,000 |
| 2012 | 31 | $4,145,876 | Sherjill MacDonald | $487,125 |
| 2011 | 30 | $3,012,683 | Cristian Nazarit | $302,500 |
| 2010 | 24 | $5,559,104 | Nery Castillo | $1,788,060 |
| 2009 | 24 | $5,134,229 | Cuauhtémoc Blanco | $2,943,702 |
| 2008 | 28 | $4,808,167 | Cuauhtémoc Blanco | $2,666,778 |
| 2007 | 29 | $4,716,304 | Cuauhtémoc Blanco | $2,666,778 |
Pay is guaranteed compensation where the source gives it and base salary where it does not. Total pay sums it across every player on record that season.
Valuations
| season | publisher | rank | value | revenue | operating income | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Forbes | 21 | $575,000,000 | $64,000,000 | $6,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2026 | Sportico | 16 | $690,000,000 | $64,000,000 | — | 1 2 |
| 2025 | Forbes | 24 | $530,000,000 | $51,000,000 | $2,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2025 | Sportico | 22 | $575,000,000 | $55,000,000 | — | 1 2 |
| 2024 | Forbes | 22 | $515,000,000 | $45,000,000 | $0 | 1 2 |
| 2024 | Sportico | 22 | $540,000,000 | $48,000,000 | — | 1 2 |
| 2023 | Forbes | 23 | $425,000,000 | $25,000,000 | -$18,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2022 | Sportico | 17 | $535,000,000 | $32,000,000 | — | 1 2 |
| 2021 | Sportico | 12 | $535,000,000 | — | — | 1 2 |
| 2019 | Forbes | 8 | $335,000,000 | $23,000,000 | -$16,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2018 | Forbes | 13 | $245,000,000 | $27,000,000 | -$12,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2017 | Forbes | 9 | $240,000,000 | $25,000,000 | -$7,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2016 | Forbes | 12 | $177,000,000 | $24,000,000 | -$6,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2015 | Forbes | 7 | $160,000,000 | $21,000,000 | -$6,000,000 | 1 2 |
| 2013 | Forbes | 8 | $102,000,000 | $24,500,000 | -$3,200,000 | 1 2 |
| 2008 | Forbes | 3 | $41,000,000 | $16,000,000 | -$3,100,000 | 1 |
Estimates, not sale prices. Forbes values the team alone, its revenue and operating income are for the season before the list; Sportico includes the team's real estate and related businesses. Every club's valuations.
Ownership
Chicago Fire joined MLS in 1998 for an expansion fee of $5,000,000, awarded in 1997.
| operator | from | to | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anschutz Entertainment Group | 1997 | 2007 | 1 2 | |
| Andrew Hauptman (Andell Holdings) | 2007 | 2019 | 1 2 | |
| Joe Mansueto | 2019 | present | 1 |
| year | seller | buyer | stake | price | club valued at | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Andell Holdings | 100% | $35,000,000 | — | 1 2 | |
| 2018 | Andrew Hauptman | Joe Mansueto | 49% | — | — | 1 | |
| 2019 | Andrew Hauptman | Joe Mansueto | 51% | $204,000,000 | $400,000,000 | 1 |
Every club's ownership, sales and expansion fees.
Sponsorships
| sponsor | named | seasons | a year | in all | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carvana | shirt | 2024– | — | — | terms not disclosed, the largest sponsorship in club history | 1 |
| McDonald's | McDonald's Park | 2026–2040 | — | — | fourteen years from the stadium's opening, with two bridge years before it, terms not disclosed | 1 |
Figures are as reported, mostly press estimates. Seasons are the first and last the deal covers. Sources are numbered links to the reports. Every club's sponsorships.