Minnesota United FC player salaries total about $4.9 million for 2017, putting them near the bottom of Major League Soccer's 22 teams.

The Major League Soccer Players Union releases salaries of the league's players twice a year and posted the information Tuesday on its website.

The highest-paid player for United is center-back Vadim Demidov, with a base salary of $550,008 plus another $5,000 in guaranteed compensation. The captain has started and played in just three of United's eight matches so far. The last time he played was in a 5-2 loss at the New England Revolution on March 25.

The next highest-paid are forward Christian Ramirez and winger Kevin Molino, both at $350,004 in base salary. Molino's guaranteed compensation includes $10,000 more than Ramirez at $402,504. Both are consistent starters and lead the team in points.

The total base salary for the Loons' 26-person roster ranks 20th in the league. In fact, individual players on some clubs earn more than United's team total. For example, Orlando City's Kaka remains the highest-paid player in the league, making $6.66 million as his base salary and more than $7.1 million in guaranteed compensation (that just edges out Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco).

Megan Ryan