2023 MLS PAL Rating and Value Rating: performance and contract value

Two scores from 0 to 100. PAL Rating measures the season's performance against regulars at the same position (goalkeepers, center backs, fullbacks, central midfielders, attacking midfielders and wingers, strikers): 50 is the median regular. Salary never enters it. Value Rating answers a different question: for what the player costs, does the return come in more or less than expected?

WAR, in wins →Payrolls →

Top goalkeeper

99PALRoman BürkiSTL · Elite Top center back

99PALJoel WatermanMTL · Elite Top fullback

99PALKai WagnerPHI · Elite Top central midfielder

100PALHéctor HerreraHOU · Elite

Top attacking midfielder or winger99PALThiago AlmadaATL · Elite

Top striker99PALCucho HernándezCLB · Elite

Value Rating is only computed for the most recent season.

The scale — PAL Rating

90–100 Elite
80–89 Excellent
70–79 Very good
60–69 Above average
40–59 Around average
20–39 Below average
0–19 Very poor

The scale — Value Rating

90–100 Exceptional value
75–89 Very good contract
55–74 Good value
45–54 Fair value
25–44 Poor return
0–24 Very poor return

Regulars only

#	Player
1	Cucho HernándezCLB · ST · 24	99	1.5	99	96	73	91	99	88
2	Brian WhiteVAN · ST · 27	98	1.4	89	93	99	78	66	54
3	Ryan GauldVAN · ST · 27	96	0.6	98	66	48	99	53	83
4	Hany MukhtarNSH · ST · 28	94	0.7	96	84	38	98	98	46
5	Georgios GiakoumakisATL · ST · 28	93	0.4	94	99	98	43	8	81
6	Christian BentekeDC · ST · 32	91	1.0	81	91	93	68	88	63
7	Duncan McGuireORL · ST · 22	89	0.1	88	94	66	79	63	64
8	Teemu PukkiMIN · ST · 33	88	0.1	93	98	16	71	51	66
9	Jesús FerreiraDAL · ST · 22	86	0.2	86	79	24	94	81	79
10	Carlos VelaLAFC · ST · 34	84	0.4	91	38	49	96	24	53
11	Dejan JoveljicLA · ST · 23	83	0.3	79	81	88	83	33	56
12	Sunusi IbrahimMTL · ST · 20	81	0.3	73	43	96	88	69	3
13	Gustavo BouNE · ST · 33	79	0.0	83	68	43	86	94	23
14	Dominique BadjiCIN · ST · 30	78	0.1	84	53	34	84	93	34
15	Mender GarcíaMIN · ST · 25	76	0.1	74	44	94	93	3	33
16	Julián CarranzaPHI · ST · 23	74	0.3	76	69	44	69	73	84
17	HéberSEA · ST · 31	73	0.2	59	63	91	73	46	6
18	João KlaussSTL · ST · 26	71	0.2	53	89	46	34	58	99
19	Karol SwiderskiCLT · ST · 26	69	0.0	69	78	59	74	34	41
20	Leonardo CampanaMIA · ST · 22	68	0.2	78	59	51	59	43	76
21	Nicholas GioacchiniSTL · ST · 22	66	0.1	61	88	79	63	29	74
22	Sergio SantosCIN · ST · 28	64	0.0	63	76	86	54	14	86
23	Mikael UhrePHI · ST · 28	63	0.2	68	74	64	81	16	38
24	Franck BoliPOR · ST · 29	61	0.4	54	86	78	33	41	61
25	Danny MusovskiRSL · ST · 27	59	-0.1	66	41	76	61	61	8
26	Anderson JulioRSL · ST · 27	58	0.0	51	54	68	58	36	96
27	Bobby WoodNE · ST · 30	56	0.1	64	61	71	18	18	89
28	Sam AdeniranSTL · ST · 24	54	-0.1	71	49	14	36	91	9
29	Cory BurkeRBNY · ST · 31	53	0.4	34	13	84	49	84	91
30	Christian RamírezCLB · ST · 32	51	-0.1	58	56	83	66	9	26
31	Gyasi ZardesATX · ST · 31	49	0.1	43	33	41	56	89	78
32	Kwadwo OpokuLAFC · ST · 21	48	0.2	44	21	74	76	23	73
33	Giacomo VrioniNE · ST · 24	46	0.0	46	73	28	3	96	31
34	Deandre KerrTOR · ST · 20	44	-0.1	33	48	33	53	78	16
35	Brandon VázquezCIN · ST · 24	43	0.1	41	39	61	16	59	28
36	Kacper PrzybylkoCHI · ST · 30	41	-0.1	38	26	11	64	71	94
37	Raúl RuidíazSEA · ST · 32	39	-0.1	49	83	63	14	6	59
38	Ramiro EnriqueORL · ST · 22	38	0.0	24	58	56	8	56	36
39	Richard LedezmaNYC · ST · 22	36	-0.1	31	11	39	89	28	21
40	Georgios KoutsiasCHI · ST · 19	34	-0.2	28	51	54	28	39	11
41	Alan PulidoSKC · ST · 32	33	-0.7	56	71	3	46	13	39
42	Elias ManoelRBNY · ST · 21	31	-0.2	36	24	21	48	19	98
43	Corey BairdHOU · ST · 27	29	-0.5	29	46	19	39	44	13
44	Rubio RubínRSL · ST · 27	28	0.1	21	14	81	44	48	14
45	Kévin CabralCOL · ST · 23	26	-0.1	16	28	31	38	68	93
46	Taxiarchis FountasDC · ST · 27	24	-0.1	48	64	26	24	4	51
47	Nnamdi Chinonso OfforMTL · ST · 23	23	0.1	14	16	89	1	38	49
48	Kei KamaraCHI · ST · 38	21	0.0	19	19	58	13	76	43
49	Darren YapiCOL · ST · 18	19	-0.1	13	9	36	41	83	44
50	Ibrahim AliyuHOU · ST · 21	18	-0.4	26	34	53	19	1	68

How it's calculated

In MLS, salary follows a player's status (Designated Player, allocation money, draft, homegrown) far more than his output: the line linking performance to salary is nearly flat. Value Rating therefore measures surplus, as in baseball. The price of a win comes from regulars who produce (about $3.6M per win in 2026); the value produced is WAR × that price; the surplus, that value minus the season's guaranteed compensation. It is turned into a standard score within the position, then 0 to 100. It measures the sporting value of the contract: a very well-paid Designated Player can be excellent and still score low, because his pay exceeds the sporting value our WAR assigns him. His commercial value (tickets, subscriptions, sponsors, media rights) is not counted.

Data: American Soccer Analysis and ESPN; salaries updated daily.