The huge fortune Messi created for American football in just over a month
A great revolution took place in the US when Lionel Messi landed at Inter Miami. The 36-year-old striker had a major sporting impact for David Beckham's club with his great performances on the field, but also gave American football a new economic dimension. His appearance increased revenue in terms of television broadcasting rights, match tickets and shirt sales, among other aspects.
A report published by Fortune said that the “Messi effect” was evident from the beginning with the increase in the number of followers on Inter Miami's Instagram account, where they have now accumulated more than 14 million followers, many than the NFL (rugby league), NHL (hockey league) or MLB (baseball league), which are much larger-scale sports than football in the US.
“It is difficult to determine the exact number because much of the data has not been publicly released or is not yet available. But it appears that Messi's new Inter Miami deal with MLS, priced between $50 and $60 million, including revenue-sharing agreements with league sponsors Apple and Adidas, is just the tip of the iceberg. of the iceberg,” explains business magazine Fortune.
According to Sports Business Journal, Major League Soccer (MLS) matches are broadcast on Apple TV, a platform that added 300,000 new subscribers in July (currently about 1.4 million subscribers in total). , the month that Messi announced his decision to play for the Florida team. The full season package costs $99, so the increased number of subscribers generates nearly $30 million.
Aside from the fact that a specific streaming service is required to watch Messi play, MLS takes full advantage of the dissemination of images on social networks. There are leagues that choose to geolocate their videos, but in the US, they choose to expand featured images without restrictions. For example, Messi's first goal attracted more than 214 million views on social networks and about 14 million impressions. These are numbers that aren't just attractive to advertisers.
For those watching live, no one wants to miss the opportunity to see the Argentine star play in person, which has caused Inter Miami match ticket prices to skyrocket by 1,700% on the resale market, according to CNBC. . For the match against the New York Red Bulls, tickets start at $425, but there are also VIP tickets for four people for more than $50,000. According to Fortune calculations, in just 2 months since Messi arrived in MLS, he has generated at least $265 million from ticket sales.
The complete picture of La Pulga's financial impact would be much larger if we added the number of shirts sold as well as everything that spectators consume during the match (parking, food...). Both Inter Miami and Adidas, the sponsor of all MLS teams, reported in July that orders for jerseys with Messi's number 10 would be backlogged until October. On the US site, the This jersey costs $180, double the jersey Argentina wore to become world champions in Qatar.
It is speculated that Messi's contract is similar to the one David Beckham signed, which includes shares in Inter Miami. His shares may be worth more than before the signing. Jorge Mas, one of Beckham's owners and partners, believes that the club's income will double in the first year. Initially, just a few weeks ago, investment company Ares Management pumped another 75 million USD into Inter Miami.
