If you’ve listened to my For the Glory KC podcast recently, then you’ve no doubt heard this topic of conversation before. Peter Vermes and new sporting director Mike Burns have indicated that a rebuild of sorts is planned for Sporting Kansas City in the 2024-25 MLS offseason. The team has endured two straight years of poor results, but redeemed itself by making the playoffs last year and a run in the U.S. Open Cup this year.

Now, three seasons in a row have started miserably, and something needs to change. While the manager’s job seems secure, many players’ jobs are not. The roster will change. And that’s exactly what Vermes and Burns are promising (though PV was a little coy at its recent Town Hall event). It doesn’t seem particularly likely that Sporting KC will rebuild the team in one offseason.

To add some context, it seems useful to lay out the numbers. The team has 16 players whose contracts either expire completely after this season or are on option years. That number has dropped slightly with the trades of Marinos Tzionis and Kayden Pierre.

Only four of those players, Johnny Russell, Tim Melia, Remi Walter and Andreu Fontas, are completely free of contract. Of the remaining 12 players, six are on the so-called supplemental roster. These are the last 10 spots on the roster and they earn the minimum salary. This means limited flexibility if you leave them, as their replacements will be signed at that salary range or by homegrown players (for each contract term and option year, see the table at the end of the story).

Let’s talk about money – Part 1: Who’s leaving?

First, a caveat. We don’t know the salary of new signing Joaquin Fernandez. That should be announced shortly in the MLSPA’s fall salary announcement. And just because a number is one thing in 2024 doesn’t mean it won’t change in 2025. Sporting KC is known for moving contracts up, and it’s not uncommon to have raises built in, either.

Additionally, a player’s total compensation can be misleading. Alan Pulido’s known salary is $3.6 million, but he only counts toward the senior max versus the salary cap ($743,750 in 2025), but he takes up one of two (or three) DP slots teams can use. However, the higher a non-DP’s budget fee, the more General Allocation Money (GAM) or Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) must be used to stay within the salary budget. (If you’re interested in such things, here’s an exercise on how SKC May spent money between 2022-23.)

All of this is to say that although the numbers are marked with a big asterisk, they still provide some context.

Total* guaranteed compensation: $15,153,425

Of that $15 million, let’s look at the four players whose contracts are expiring:

• Johnny Russell: $1,000,000
• Remi Walter: $900,000
• Tim Melia: $637,500
• Andreu Fontas: $450,000

Total of players without a contract: $2,987,500

If you compare it to the total spend, it’s pretty minimal. There are no DPs being taken off the books, so there’s no unlimited spend signing possible. But surely some GAM/TAM will be taken off if all four of these guys go. But that’s a big IF. Fontas is gone for sure. But will the team part ways with Russell, Melia and Walter in the same offseason? One of the best wingers and perhaps the best goalie (based on his time in KC) in the club’s history? Last year they managed to get Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza, but I have my doubts.

The only other players with significant salaries that the team can release (aside from the one-time severance package) are:

• Erik Thommy: 1,106,250 USD
• William Agada: $521,875
• Robert Voloder: $477,860^
• Logan Ndenbe: 405,000 USD^

If all eight of those players, most of whom could be considered regulars, are gone, then the total relief rises to $4,498,485. But Sporting KC isn’t going to get rid of eight potential regulars. Maybe some players will come back on lower contracts, but that’s impossible to know at this point. The problem is that the highest salaries are tied to players who will still be here in 2025 and maybe beyond.

*Joaquin Fernandez’s salary is not yet known. The remaining salaries are based on the most recent data from 2024.

^Voloder and Ndenbe are U-22 initiative players and only count $200,000 towards the actual salary budget.

Let’s talk about money – Part 2: Who stays

To judge how hampered Sporting KC might be during the offseason, it might be better to look at who is almost certainly not leaving (though KC could buy out a contract if the company decides to use its internal budget in that way).

• Alan Pulido: $3,600,000
• Nemanja Radoja: 1,530,000 USD
• Daniel Salloi: 1,300,000 USD
• Khiry Shelton: $750,000
• Tim Leibold: $601,050

Those are the team’s three highest-paid players, along with Shelton (7th) and Leibold (9th). They account for $7,781,050 of Kansas City’s internal budget, not to mention all of the Designated Player spots on the roster. The team has said it has the option to add another DP, but that means extensive TAM/GAM will have to be used on Salloi and potentially Radoja as well if they opt for the 2 DPs/4 U22 roster model.

Pulido and Salloi are guaranteed through 2026, and Shelton, Radoja and Leibold are guaranteed through 2025 with options for 2026. Putting aside the fact that the salary does not match a player’s budget amount, Sporting KC will be limited in what they can do this offseason.

Pure salaries as a percentage of squad spending. Pulido actually only makes up 12.5% ​​of the MLS salary budget for next year.

What turnover can be expected?

The rebuild may be slower than anyone, including Vermes, would like. PV has been very limited as ownership has had no budget since 2020 and coffers have been tight for signing players. The ownership group has promised the largest budget ever, which will go a long way. But that doesn’t fix bad contracts and signings from the past, which were partially driven by spending restrictions on signing new, younger players. And signings will certainly miss some as well, as it’s an inexact science.

In addition to the biggest budget, there is a cash injection for more GAM from selling Kayden Pierre, qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and (almost certainly) missing the playoffs. The money for Pierre can be spent all at once or spread over several seasons. And hopefully his sale is the first of many in the coming years, as it is one of the only ways to remain competitive with these teams that spend massive amounts of money to sign superstars.

Only four players were signed to minimum contracts between 2023 and 2024. The team will undoubtedly be more active. How much more active it will be depends a lot on how many players, including some fan favorites, leave the team.

Sporting KC squad and contract options shortly before the end of 2024

Here is the full squad as it stands today after the squad freeze expires in 2024.

Key:

• HG = Homegrown player
• DP = Designated Player
• U22 = Signing of the U-22 initiative
• INT = International Squad Place