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Grading the Inter Miami payroll: Bargains (other than Messi) and busts

By one highly unscientific measure -- pay per minute played in Major League Soccer competitions this year -- Noah Allen and Yannick Bright provide the highest value on the league's most expensive roster.
ByKen Garner|
Yannick Bright has excelled for Inter Miami CF despite being the Herons' lowest paid player.
Yannick Bright has excelled for Inter Miami CF despite being the Herons' lowest paid player. | Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/GettyImages
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Herons' salary per MLS minute played

Estevao Willian, Noah Allen
Inter Miami CF defender Noah Allen works against Estevao Willian during the Herons' Club World Cup match against Palmeiras. | Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages

I am not a statistician or a CPA; this is NOT a scientific comparison of players' worth to Inter Miami's on-field product, but I hope that comparing each player's guaranteed compensation to their MLS minutes played could help identify who is -- and who isn't -- earning their paycheck through 16 matches. I used MLSsoccer.com's player stats page to find minutes and the MLS Players Association Salary Guide to find guaranteed compensation, then I divided player salaries by minutes played.

No, the MLS stats pages do not include competitions other than the MLS regular season, so this table doesn't consider minutes played in the Concacaf Champions Cup (eight matches) or the FIFA Club World Cup (three matches and counting) because, well, that would be more work. (Did I mention this is a highly unscientific comparison?) And no, I made no attempt to include goals, assists, dribbles completed, clearances, saves or any metric other than MLS minutes and guaranteed compensation. But the figures do provide some interesting talking points.

PLAYER -- MLS minutes played -- 2025 compensation -- compensation per minute

NOAH ALLEN -- 1,198 minutes -- $126,667-- $105.73

YANNICK BRIGHT -- 790-- $83,647 -- $105.88

IAN FRAY -- 668-- $150,000 -- $224.55

TELASCO SEGOVIA -- 822-- $335,000 -- $407.54

OSCAR USTARI -- 1,069-- $744,000 -- $695.98

BENJA CREMASCHI -- 834-- $502,500 -- $602.52

ROCCO RIOS NOVO -- 184--$122,866 -- $667.75

GONZALO LUJAN -- 1,039-- $818,250 -- $787.54

MAXI FALCON -- 662 -- $524,250 -- $791.92

TOTO AVILES -- 521-- $467,492 -- $897.30

LUIS AFONSO -- 89 -- $80,622 -- $905.87

TADEO ALLENDE -- 865-- $1million -- $1,156.07

DAVID RUIZ -- 73-- $106,000-- $1,452.05

FEDE REDONDO -- 571-- $837,000-- $1,465.85

LUIS SUAREZ -- 1,016-- $1.5 million -- $1,476.38

CHELO WEIGANDT -- 490-- $734,708 -- $1,499.40

FAFA PICAULT -- 399-- $642,000 -- $1,609.02

DRAKE CALLENDER -- 184-- $455,913 -- $2,477.79

DAVID MARTINEZ -- 265-- $839,839 -- $3,169.20

ALLEN OBANDO -- 154-- $527,885-- $3,427.82

JORDI ALBA -- 1,135 minutes-- $6 million -- $5,286.34

SANTI MORALES --20 --$112,333 -- $5,616.65

SERGIO BUSQUETS -- 1,342 minutes-- $8,774,996 -- $6,538.75

LIONEL MESSI -- 1,115-- $20,446,667-- $18,337.81

BALTHAZAR RODRIGUEZ -- 18 -- $440,000 -- $24,444.44

RYAN SAILOR -- 1-- $104,000 -- $104,000

WILLIAM YARROUGH -- 0 -- $150,000 -- U

TYLER HALL -- 0 -- $104,000 -- U

ISRAEL BOATWRIGHT -- 0 -- $106,000 -- U