When Lionel Messi made the blockbuster announcement that he would be joining Inter Miami this season, most knew it would be a boon for North American soccer. However few could have predicted just how beneficial the move would be for both player and club alike.
When you acquire one of the world’s most popular players, fresh off a career-defining World Cup victory, the benefits are wide ranging, and plentiful.
In a country where football, the one played with your hands rather than your feet, reigns supreme, Major League Soccer has lagged behind the other “Big 4” sports since its inception. While the domestic league has since made tangible strides in the viewership department, closing the gap with the NHL across multiple demographics, it still lags behind the juggernaut that is the NFL.
Of the 50 most viewed sporting events in 2022, 45 of them were NFL games in the Nielson ratings last year. Another 3 were college football games in the US market. Only night 9 of the Winter Olympics and the World Cup final between Argentina and France managed to crack the list, coming in at number 34 and 36 respectively.
Which is why in the gridiron crazed nation that is America, having one of, if not THE most recognizable figures in the sport make the journey across the pond is paramount to MLS’s future success. David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and more have all suited up at various times throughout their careers, but none compare to the social, and financial windfall that will accompany Messi’s debut.
Where the Argentinian legend goes, so goes his almost cult-like following of fans, which translates to big business for Inter Miami and MLS alike.
With 475M followers on Instagram alone, Messi can drive business like few people on the planet can with a single post, tweet, or product share. When news first broke of Messi’s signing with Inter Miami CF, the impact was instantaneous.
Their website was flooded with so many visitors that it crashed, and their social media accounts gained followers by the millions. On Instagram alone, they’re now up to 8.4M followers, which is more than any NHL, NFL, MLB, or MLS team. And he hasn’t even suited up for a game yet.
In the hours that followed his signing, Inter Miami merchandise sales went up 4,500%. Their ticket sales went up 1,200%, and they became the 3rd best selling team on the planet on Fanatics’ online store. Their revenue for 2023 alone is projected to more than quadruple what it was last year.
Now, all of that certainly comes at a price. It’s estimated that Messi will earn between $50M-$60M annually via salary, signing bonus, and equity in the team. But those figures also don’t factor in endorsement deals, and rumoured revenue-sharing contracts with the likes of Adidas, Fanatics, and Apple which will net Messi untold millions more in earnings.
When all is said and done, Messi will be the highest paid athlete in North America by a comfortable margin.
Such is the gravity of Messi’s mere presence on a soccer field, that MLS is reportedly in talks to secure football venues for Inter Miami games this season to maximize gate revenue. When he was stateside in 2017 with Barcelona on a pre-season tour, crowds of 60,000-80,000 regularly turned up to watch him play. That figure far exceeds what the soccer specific stadiums of the MLS can hold, which generally range from 18,000-30,000. Money that owners won’t be simply willing to “leave on the table” in 2023.
When the 36 year old joined Paris-Saint Germain in 2021, the club generated €700M in revenue over the course of his first year. They also added 10 new sponsorship deals, while seeing their match day sales, merchandising, and image rights all skyrocket as well.
But everything that Messi has done up to this point has been extremely calculated, and will ultimately set himself, and multiple generations of Messi’s thereafter, up for success. The timing of his deal, which runs through 2026, is no coincidence. With North America set to host the 2026 World Cup, there will be more eyes on domestic leagues than ever before. And with the game’s most marketable star now in Florida as opposed to across the ocean, you can bet that sponsors will be steadily contacting Messi’s group to try and align themselves with the superstar’s brand.
With an estimated $14B windfall at play for FIFA in 2026, if the former Barcelona forward can tap into even a small percentage of that figure, he’ll be in line for a generational wealth style payday.
Which is ultimately why despite their best efforts to ink Messi, the Saudi backed domestic league failed to earn his signature. While the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and an ever increasing number of high profile footballers have signed on for massive annual salaries, Messi has chosen his own path. But one in which lifestyle and financial incentives blend together in a more natural manner than if he’d signed on with a club in the Middle East.
All in all the deal is already a massive win for Inter Miami and MLS alike. While it remains to be seen what kind of on field impact Messi will have for the team that went 14-6-14 in 2022, the off field ramifications will yield untold sums of cash for all parties involved.
Messi is set to make his MLS debut on July 21st in the Leagues Cup vs. Cruz Azul. A game in which the cheapest single ticket you can purchase is currently listed for $1,514 on the secondary market.
The Messi effect is real.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Tasnim News Agency. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.