The official 2022 MLS salary budget was set at $4,900,000 per team. This amount was formally established by Major League Soccer as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and represented the maximum amount each club could spend on player salaries for the 2022 season.
This $4,900,000 salary budget was distributed across the roster with specific allocation rules. Teams could exceed this amount only through designated player slots, which allowed clubs to sign up to three players whose salaries above $651,250 would not count fully against the salary budget. The remaining portion of designated player salaries (up to the budget charge of $651,250) still counted against the team's salary budget.
The 2022 salary budget represented an increase from previous years as MLS continued to grow its investment in player compensation. Teams were required to spend a minimum of $4,410,000 (90% of the salary budget) to ensure competitive balance across the league while maintaining the salary budget structure that has been central to MLS roster construction since the league's inception.