Canadian Premier League *finally* reveals salary information ahead of 2021 season

BURLINGTON, Canada—In an effort to be more transparent ahead of the 2021 Canadian Premier League season, the league revealed some financial information about player and coaching salaries, among other things on Monday afternoon.

Disclosing the information to The Canadian Press’ Neil Davidson, CPL Commissioner David Clanachan said that being more transparent with fans and media “needs to be done.” Since the league first kicked off in 2019, the lack of transparency with regards to salaries and the salary cap has been a constant talking point.

The big number is $1.2 million. That’s the 2021 salary cap for players and coaches/technical staff combined. That cap is broken up into two smaller caps—one for each group.

The total player cap must be between $650,000 and $850,000, and the coaches/technical staff cap must be between $350,000 and $550,000. Combined, the sum must be no greater than $1.2M, but it’s also worth noting that number will rise in 2022.

With that also comes a minimum compensation for players—announced as $22,000, but possibly rising up to $26,000. This compensation comes both in the form of money, but also as housing, and other allowances. The Canadian Press article specifically mentions car allowances and incentive bonuses as examples of potential compensation provided for players.

Including bonuses, the league average for compensation will be around $40,000 according to Clanachan, with the highest compensation set at $77,000. For context, the minimum salary in Major League Soccer is $81,375.

These salaries are still quite low, more of a stipend than a full time salary, but Clanachan is on record stating that the league is committed to improve its standards as the CanPL looks to become a top three league in CONCACAF. He admitted that the league is “nowhere near that right now,” but that they’ve “got to have lofty goals.”

The CPL is aiming to start the 2021 season on Victoria Day weekend at the end of May.