MLS teams are bad at buying quality goalkeeping. Atlanta United should take note.

Maybe that means you play the kids?

Atlanta United is looking for a new No. 1. Sporting Director Chris Henderson said a couple of weeks ago that the team has already had conversations with Brad Guzan about next season. In 2026, there will be a new long-term starter in goal for the first time in Atlanta United’s history.

Early days, but there’s a decent chance that long-term starter is Jayden Hibbert. The 21-year-old has performed admirably in limited minutes this year. And he’ll continue his tryout over the next few weeks until Guzan gets his well-earned curtain call game. If Hibbert keeps playing well, most folks would consider him The Guy heading into next season.

But will Atlanta United see it that way?

We know the club gravitates towards experience. And 21 in goalkeeper years is something close to being a pre-teen. The main argument against rolling with Hibbert would be something to the effect of, “We think we can spend more to guarantee solidity in goal.”

Here’s the thing about that argument: MLS teams stink at getting what they pay for out of goalkeepers.

Here, take a look.

I looked at every starting goalkeeper (2000 minutes played) season since 2017 and compared their guaranteed compensation to their “Goals Added”, an all-encompassing metric from ASA that, in this case, primarily looks at shot-stopping effectiveness with a few other measures thrown in. The top right quadrant shows players who were cheap and good, the bottom left quadrant shows players who were expensive and not good.