While player salaries remain a public affair, MLS coaches’ contracts are rarely revealed. This is likely because the salary caps, including player salaries, don’t include coaches.

According to the popular job site ZipRecruiter, an MLS coach’s annual salary starts from $23,000 and tapers around $100,000. Head coach salaries are usually much higher, spanning from $100,000 to over a million dollars.

The broad salary gap usually depends on the manager’s history, background, and recent results on the pitch. Other factors can include the squad and team, as well.

Most notably, popular Arsenal star Theirry Henry was C.F… Montreal’s manager until he stepped down at the beginning of the 2021 season. His salary was estimated to be between $1.5 to $2 million annually.

With Henry out of the MLS currently, New England Revolution coach Bruce Arena is estimated to be the highest-paid coach.

Let’s look at all the head coaches, their salaries, and their MLS teams. We’ll also look at the average pay for MLS coaches and how it has changed through the league’s history.

Finally, we’ll look at the influx of foreign coaches in the MLS, if they are paid more than domestic coaches, and if foreign coaches bring better results on the pitch.

Name	Nation	Age	Club	Estimated Salary ($)
Rob Valentino	USA	35	Atlanta United FC	100,000
Josh Wolff	USA	44	Austin FC	200,000
Raphaël Wicky	Switzerland	44	Chicago Fire FC	280,000
Jaap Stam	Netherlands	49	F.C… Cincinnati	450,000
Robin Fraser	USA	54	Colorado Rapids	180,000
Caleb Porter	USA	46	Columbus Crew	350,000
Luchi Gonzalez	USA	41	FC Dallas	200,000
Hernán Losada	Argentina	39	D.C. United	400,000
Tab Ramos	USA	54	Houston Dynamo FC	550,000
Phil Neville	England	44	Inter Miami CF	1,000,000
Bob Bradley	USA	63	Los Angeles FC	450,000
Greg Vanney	USA	47	LA Galaxy	300,000
Adrian Heath	England	60	Minnesota United FC	250,000
Wilfried Nancy	France	44	CF Montréal	180,000
Gary Smith	England	52	Nashville SC	500,000
Bruce Arena	USA	69	New England Revolution	1,200,000
Ronny Deila	Norway	45	New York City FC	500,000
Gerhard Struber	Austria	44	New York Red Bulls	300,000
Óscar Pareja	Colombia	53	Orlando City SC	300,000
Jim Curtin	USA	42	Philadelphia Union	280,000
Giovanni Savarese	Venezuela	50	Portland Timbers	300,000
Freddy Juarez	USA	43	Real Salt Lake	200,000
Matias Almeyda	Argentina	47	San Jose Earthquakes	350,000
Brian Schmetzer	USA	59	Seattle Sounders FC	300,000
Peter Vermes	USA	54	Sporting Kansas City	170,000
Javier Pérez	Spain	44	Toronto FC	180,000
Marc Dos Santos	Canada	44	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	180,000

What is The Average Pay For MLS Coaches?

The average pay for MLS head coaches is estimated to be $320,000. Coaching legends like Bruce Arena and former international stars like Phil Neville are raking in over $1 million each year.

MLS clubs are looking to attract international coaching talent, and they have no issues splashing the cash to do so.

Over the years, the MLS has struggled to keep up with coach salaries at top European leagues. When the MLS took off in 1996 with only ten teams playing, coach salaries barely averaged $30,000 annually.

Head coaches’ salaries hardly crossed the $100,000 mark. It wasn’t shocking that many of the 10 teams’ coaches were American.

It would’ve been difficult to coerce European and foreign coaches to the MLS for smaller salaries.

In the early 2000s, the MLS struggled financially, even reducing the number of teams from 12 to 10 in 2002.

Around this period, coach salaries were said to have stagnated, with teams unwilling to pay higher amounts for their coaches.

By 2005, MLS’ marketability had improved dramatically, thanks to the USMNT’s quarterfinal run in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Broadcast money and lucrative deals for players moving from the MLS to Europe increased. With more money, the MLS increased coach pay, with top coaches earning above the $100,000 mark.

The 2010s saw renewed interest in the MLS, partly due to the rise in the league’s social media following but mainly due to the Designated Player Rule.

The MLS became highly marketable with the influx of world stars like David Beckham. This also led to an increase in coaching salaries and a stronger resurgence of foreign coaches.

Soon enough, head coach salaries were troughing at $100,000 and peaking at over $500,000.

By the turn of the decade, a new influx of football-stars-turned-coaches found their way into the MLS.

Patrick Vieira and Theirry Henry made headlines for their decisions to coach in the MLS, which would have cost their respective clubs well over a million dollars annually.

During last year’s offseason, six new head coach hires were foreign coaches, arguably setting their clubs back with higher contract fees and salaries.

Do Foreign Coaches Earn More in The MLS?

Even from the onset, foreign coaches have played an important part in America’s top-tier soccer league. At the time, though, it was often the norm to see a foreign coach fired after a few months of poor results on the field.

Much of that was due to the intricacies within the MLS rules, which many foreign coaches had to learn.

Over time, however, coaches have left much of the league’s idiosyncrasies to executive management, focusing mainly on training and results on the pitch.

This has helped foreign coaches flourish in the MLS, bringing their international expertise to American soccer.

Foreign coaches are often paid more than their local counterparts, except on rare occasions. Local star head coaches like Bruce Arena command high contracts due to their long experience and expertise in the MLS. Most local coaches, however, have to make do with slightly less lucrative contracts.

On average, foreign coaches in the MLS make approximately $50,000 more than local coaches. Some fans have called this a “Designated Coach Rule,” explaining that attracting quality coaches to the MLS will require larger contracts.

Foreign coaches like Thierry Henry and Phil Neville have earned well over $1 million annually as MLS coaches.

Notably, a few foreign coaches have exceeded expectations at their clubs, like Atlanta’s Tata Martino. The Argentine coach drew support and admiration from fans and pundits for his attractive, up-tempo style of play. It wasn’t a surprise when he won the MLS Cup in 2018.

San Jose’s head coach Matias Almeyda took the Quakes from a struggling mid-team in 2018 to strong playoff contenders this season. Much of his success thus far has been due to his tactical style of play, which was influenced by his Argentine roots.

Patrick Vieira, NYCFC’s boss for nearly three seasons, also succeeded in the MLS.

The Frenchman improved the New York outfit using his experience as the head of Manchester City’s youth academy and his time playing for Arsenal. The struggling team entered the playoffs by Vieira’s first season and consolidated its spot in his second.

Foreign coaches have much to offer to the MLS, especially because their impact on the American league legitimizes the country’s soccer efforts worldwide. However, splashing the cash on foreign coaches may not always be the best route.

More often than not, when foreign coaches fail, it is argued that they found the MLS rules difficult to work with. In 2015, research from FiftyFive.One showed that managers unfamiliar with MLS had a points-per-game average of 1.34.

On both ends, Hans Westerhof won only four games out of 32 during his reign at Chivas USA. Ray Hudson, the foreign manager with the highest points-per-game average, picked up 1.74 ppg in 50 games at Miami Fusion.

While the median points-per-game average for all MLS managers was 1.38, foreign managers managed 1.32, while domestic managers did much better with 1.39.

This is one of the strongest arguments against the influx of expensive foreign coaches into the MLS. They statistically end up with worse results.

Notably, head coaches like Peter Vermes of Sporting Kansas City, Brian Schmetzer of Seattle Sounders F.C…, and Jim Curtin of Philadelphia Union are some of the longest-tenured coaches in the MLS.

All of them are Americans who have carved out success in their respective clubs, enough success to earn such longevity.

Peter Vermes has been with Sporting Kansas City since August 2009 and has picked up four major trophies since that time.

Schmetzer has coached Seattle Sounders since 2016, picking up 2 MLS Cups and winning the Western Conference four times.

Curtin has won the Supporters Shield with Philadelphia Union and placed second in the U.S. Open Cup. Foreign managers have never achieved such remarkable long-term success in the MLS, irrespective of their higher earnings.