ORLANDO, FLORIDA – AUGUST 22: Antoine Griezmann #7 of Orlando City celebrates with teammate after scoring his second goal in second half of the match against Real Salt Lake at Inter&Co Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images)
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With the secondary MLS transfer window closing last week, the league announced on Wednesday that its 30 clubs had set a new record for overall transfer spending, paying out $370 million in total fees across the two windows of the current season.
The figure represents a 10% increase from 2025, and a dramatic ramp-up of 118% from five years prior.
The news is arguably even better on the selling side, where MLS clubs generated $218 in transfer revenue. That’s an exceptional 263% increase from five seasons ago.
MLS Transfer Growth, 2021-2026
Expenditures
2021 – $170 million
2022 – $163 million
2023 – $172 million
2024 – $188 million
2025 – $336 million
2026 – $370 million
5-year increase: 118%
Revenues
2021 – $60 million
2022 – $114 million
2023 – $99 million
2024 – $143 million
2025 – $202 million
2026 – $218 million
5-year increase: 263%
The league is well within its rights to boast about progress that is real and significant, on a scale that far outpaces the 27.65% total inflation that has occurred during that five-year interval.
That said, MLS has also presented those numbers in the most flattering way possible. A closer looks shows some of the progress is less dramatic than it sounds.
Here are four reasons why:
MLS Introduces Cash Trades
While MLS still operates within its single-entity system, the league introduced cash trades as a new mechanism for buying and selling players within the league before the 2025 season.
On the macro level, those trades effectively function similarly to domestic transfers in other leagues, bringing MLS closer in line with the world game.
According to MLS’ release, its clubs spent a combined $46 million on cash trades during 2026, led by St. Louis’ $12 million move in the secondary window for Rafael Navarro. That money accounts for 12.4% of the league’s acquisitions in 2026 and 21.1% of its sales.
Again, that revenue would be counted just the same in any other global competition. But it is abnormal that the market previously wasn’t available to MLS clubs from 2021-24.
Continued MLS Expansion
As with MLS stats, the growth in transfer activity over the last five years must be considered in the context of continued expansion.
Charlotte FC joined the league in 2022, St. Louis City launched in 2023, and San Diego FC played its first games in 2025. That’s an increase in the total inventory of clubs of 11 % over the previously mentioned 5-year interval, which plays at least a minor role in the total increase.
The Messi Influence
Lionel Messi himself did not require a transfer fee when he signed with Inter Miami midway through the 2023 season. Still, his arrival has propelled the club into a different spending stratosphere in the seasons since.
The Herons have spent about $80.6 million on transfers since Messi’s arrival, a stretch of three-and-a-half full cycles. That includes about $49.6 million this season, which is more than the total increase in transfer spending across MLS from 2025.
Global Ground To Gain
While MLS has clearly grown as a market, it is still relatively small on a global scale.
In terms of expenditure, Miami led MLS with $45.4 million spent on transfers in the 2025-26 window Transfermarkt uses to monitor global activity. (For MLS purposes, this includes the secondary transfer window of 2025 and the primary window of 2026). That landed Miami 86th in the world in total spend over that interval.
Charlotte FC, the MLS club that earned the most from sales in that timeframe — primarily by shipping striker Patrick Agyemang to Derby County — came in 200th overall in worldwide revenue.
Yes, this differs from club valuations. Forbes placed seven MLS clubs in its top 30 most valuable soccer teams in 2026. But that only adds to the urgency the league and its clubs should feel to begin acting more like the bigger leagues they are chasing.