FC Cincinnati

The money at FC Cincinnati: what it pays its players, what it is worth and who owns it, and what it is paid. The club's games, rosters and history are at soccerstats.us.

Pay

Payroll by season

season players total pay highest paid pay
2026 29 $23,472,623 Evander da Silva Ferreira $4,736,411
2025 30 $23,187,260 Evander da Silva Ferreira $4,736,411
2024 33 $20,950,009 Luciano Acosta $4,216,413
2023 30 $14,348,728 Luciano Acosta $2,222,854
2022 31 $16,281,087 Luciano Acosta $2,222,854
2021 31 $13,112,516 Luciano Acosta $2,222,854
2020 32 $13,304,603 Jurgen Locadia $2,312,500
2019 33 $9,564,914 Fanendo Adi $1,965,008
2018 2 $2,057,576 Fanendo Adi $1,933,333

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.

Transfers

season player from to move fee up to reported sources
2025 Kévin Denkey Cercle Brugge FC Cincinnati in $16.2M — 1
2025 Evander Portland Timbers FC Cincinnati within MLS $12M $12.15M 1
2025 Luciano Acosta FC Cincinnati FC Dallas within MLS $5M $6M 1
2024 Brandon Vazquez FC Cincinnati CF Monterrey out $7.5M — 1
2023 Brenner FC Cincinnati Udinese out $11M — 1
2023 Aaron Boupendza Rizespor FC Cincinnati in $7M — 1
2021 Brenner São Paulo FC FC Cincinnati in $13M — 1

Fees paid and received, as reported; nearly all are press estimates. Every transfer on record.

Value & ownership

Valuations

Forbes Sportico Expansion fee $100M $200M $500M $1B 2019 Forbes: $285,000,000 2023 Forbes: $560,000,000 2024 Forbes: $650,000,000 2025 Forbes: $730,000,000 2026 Forbes: $800,000,000 2021 Sportico: $500,000,000 2022 Sportico: $550,000,000 2024 Sportico: $645,000,000 2025 Sportico: $725,000,000 2026 Sportico: $790,000,000 2018 FC Cincinnati expansion fee: $150,000,000 2026 2024 2022 2020 2018 2016 2014 2012 2010 2008 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 1996

Click or tap a mark to see what it is.

Estimated value by year, with any expansion fee and sale, on a logarithmic scale: each gridline step is a doubling or more. A line joins only consecutive years, so a year with no list is a gap.
season publisher rank value revenue operating income sources
2026 Forbes 9 $800,000,000 $82,000,000 -$15,000,000 1 2
2026 Sportico 9 $790,000,000 $93,000,000 — 1 2
2025 Forbes 10 $730,000,000 $76,000,000 $3,000,000 1 2
2025 Sportico 9 $725,000,000 $84,000,000 — 1 2
2024 Forbes 14 $650,000,000 $71,000,000 $10,000,000 1 2
2024 Sportico 14 $645,000,000 $79,000,000 — 1 2
2023 Forbes 14 $560,000,000 $56,000,000 -$1,000,000 1 2
2022 Sportico 16 $550,000,000 $65,000,000 — 1 2
2021 Sportico 18 $500,000,000 — — 1 2
2019 Forbes 14 $285,000,000 — — 1 2

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

FC Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019 for an expansion fee of $150,000,000, awarded in 2018.

operator from to note sources
Carl Lindner III and partners 2018 present Meg Whitman and Griff Harsh minority owners from 2019 1

Every club's ownership, sales and expansion fees.