With recent reports indicating that Charlotte FC has agreed to an $8 million transfer fee, plus additional bonuses and a sell-on clause, Patrick Agyemang will join the ranks of top MLS outbound transfers for former college players. Here is the current list of the top five MLS transfer fees for former college players*:
Daryl Dike – $9.5 million
Daryl Dike was drafted fifth overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City. The striker played two years of college ball at the University of Virginia. He helped Virginia win the ACC Championship in 2019 and get to the College Cup Final that year before falling to Georgetown in PKs.
Orlando City transferred Dike to West Bromwich Albion after he played two seasons in MLS. The Lions reportedly received $9.5 million for the deal and could receive additional compensation based on performance bonuses and a potential future sale.
Patrick Agyemang – $8 million
According to reports from MLS Insider Tom Bogert, Charlotte FC and Derby County have agreed on an $8 million transfer fee plus an additional $2 million in bonuses for Patrick Agyemang. Charlotte will also retain a sell-on clause. The young striker was drafted in the First Round of the 2023 SuperDraft after playing Division I soccer at the University of Rhode Island. Before attending Rhode Island, he played Division III soccer at Eastern Connecticut State.
Moise Bombito – $7.7 million
Moise Bombito was drafted third overall in the 2023 SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids. The Canadian International was the first University of New Hampshire player to be drafted in the First Round. According to reports, French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice agreed to a fee of $7.7 million, which could increase to $10.7 million with add-ons. The Rapids also retained a sell-on clause.
With the fees of Agyemang and Bombito, the 2023 SuperDraft is shaping up to be one of the strongest MLS drafts in recent memory.
Zack Steffen – $7.5 million
The closest to an exact number that can be found for Zack Steffen’s transfer to Manchester City is $7.5 million, which could have risen to $10 million with incentive bonuses. No indications have been found on whether any of those bonuses were hit as Steffen is now back in MLS with the Colorado Rapids. Paul Tenorio of The Athletic also reported the deal was in the range of $7-10 million, so the $7.5 million number appears accurate.
Steffen played two years at the University of Maryland prior to signing with Freiburg and then returning to the States with the Columbus Crew before his big transfer to Manchester City. The goalkeeper helped Maryland get to the NCAA College Cup Final in his freshman year in 2013.
Mark McKenzie – $6 million
Mark McKenzie played one season with Wake Forest University before signing a homegrown contract with the Philadelphia Union in 2018. According to Tom Bogert’s MLSsoccer report, the deal between the Union and Belgian side KRC Genk was in the range of $6 million plus additional add-on bonuses and a retained sell-on clause. McKenzie played for Genk from 2021-24 before then transferring to Toulouse.
The Toulouse transfer was smaller than the sum for his move to Genk, so the fee likely didn’t increase the number the Union received from McKenzie significantly.
* The top five rankings were worked out using data from Transfermarkt.
