How Messi Could Transform MLS 🐐 🇺🇸
How Messi Could Transform MLS 🐐 🇺🇸
Plus Netflix is getting into live sports, fake Man United tweet causes market chaos and, Haaland's underwear mystery.
The GOAT debate is finally over…Ronaldo has won!
Why? Well, Messi just left football altogether and started playing something called Soccer!..
We are obviously kidding, but like all jokes, there is a hint of truth.
Much like their insistence on calling it soccer, North America has always felt at arm’s length from the rest of the football world. Despite being situated within the largest and most influential economy on the planet, MLS has never really reached the heights it often promised.
The likes of Beckham, Pelé, and Ibrahimović have all made the pilgrimage to try and bring lasting legitimacy and attention to the struggling idea of U.S. soccer, but none ever had a long-lasting impact.
Beckham even set up his own club, Inter Miami, in the hopes of leveraging his international fame to create a brand that could propel MLS forward and connect with Miami’s large South American population. This has somewhat failed.
But fear not Inter Miami and America, Messi has come to save you.
Messi’s likely impact on MLS can be broken into three categories:
Attention
Money
Legacy
Messi = Attention
Attention is the most obvious one. Alongside Ronaldo, Messi is by far the most popular footballer on the planet. In fact, he is one of the most popular humans on the planet. His Instagram account has more followers than Lebron James, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, President Obama, and Oprah Winfrey combined.
Messi’s arrival will bring millions of eyeballs, an impact that will be enhanced by the fact that many younger fans now follow single personalities rather than entire teams.
What better example of this trend than PSG losing almost 2 million Instagram followers after Messi left and Inter Miami gaining around 7 million?
Messi = Money
All of this attention will be easy for Inter Miami and MLS to translate into money. Prices of tickets to Messi’s first Inter Miami game have gone up by 1000%. Other MLS teams are also seeing demand for their games against Inter Miami increase. Every single MLS game featuring Messi is expected to sell out, with some teams even considering moving out of their smaller home stadiums and into larger NFL venues for Inter Miami games to meet the demand.
This is a brilliant sign for a league where some teams don’t even bother opening their upper-tier seating due to a lack of demand.
The money-making opportunities for Inter Miami in particular are impressive.
When considering a move for Messi, Barcelona calculated that his arrival would boost the club’s finances by at least €100m (after his salary and costs.) When Messi was at PSG, they added about 10 new sponsors on contracts ranging from €3-8 million. Shirt sales also sky-rocketed, with Messi shirts making up about 60% of those sold that year.
Inter Miami can expect to experience similar increases, especially considering their access to large U.S. sponsors and close proximity to Messi’s large South American fanbase.
It’s important to note that MLS clubs share some of the revenue from tickets and merch sales, therefore, the entire league will benefit long term.
Messi = Legacy
Looking long term, perhaps Messi’s biggest impact will come years after he has left.
Messi will operate like a magnet for football in the U.S. His mere presence will entice other top players to make the switch to MLS, providing greater talent, more competitive football, and greater worldwide attention for the league.
We are already seeing this effect materialise, with several top names like Ángel Di Maria and Jordi Alba all linked to the MLS in recent days.
This should turn into a virtuous cycle, with talent attracting talent until MLS becomes a legitimate destination for the next generation.
Talking of the next generation, the Messi hype might inspire American kids to get into football. Pelé had a similar impact when he joined the New York Cosmos in the 70s. He is credited with inspiring the young talent that would eventually see the U.S. national team qualify for the World Cups in 90’ and 94.’
The World Cup is another area of interest. Messi’s arrival comes about three years before the U.S. hosts another World Cup. There is hope that Messi will drive local interest in the tournament, especially considering his status as a World Cup winner. Messi will likely become an unofficial mascot for the tournament, especially if he gets sponsorship deals with large American companies that will leverage any link between Messi and the tournament.
Whatever way you look at it, Messi’s arrival in Miami and MLS is a major win. It is therefore no wonder that MLS broadcaster Apple and kit supplier Adidas are offering the Argentine a share of the extra revenues he generates.
🍎 Sports Business Bites
⛳️ Netflix is getting into live sports!
According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix is about to close a deal to live stream a celebrity golf match between pro golfers and Formula 1 Drivers.
Although in a weird twist, it is believed that Netflix will make the golfers and F1 drivers play on separate courses because no one likes sharing!
Joking aside, this is a big deal for live sports.
While Netflix’s rivals Amazon, Disney, and Apple have been closing broadcasting deals for big events like the Champions League and MLS, Netflix has stayed away from the live action. When quizzed on why, Netflix’s co-CEO suggested that the company didn’t see any profits in live sports.
Instead, Netflix has focused on sports documentaries. There is the famous Drive to Survive F1 series, as well as newer options that cover tennis, golf, and the Tour de France.
So, why the shift?
According to the report, Netflix sees this one-off tournament as the perfect opportunity to test out the live sports market without being tied down to a multi-year contract for a large event like F1 or the PGA. Netflix also has synergy between its documentaries and this series, with several documentary stars appearing in this tournament.
🏀 Nikola Jokic doesn’t have social media!
We know what you are thinking…how does he keep up with Taylor Swift’s relationship status and the most current conspiracy theories?
Well, he doesn’t. In fact, Jokic describes social media as a waste of time and prefers to stay focused on his basketball.
This philosophy appears to be serving the current NBA champion and MVP very well. While he is certainly right about the distracting aspect of social media, his decision is technically costing him when it comes to sponsorship income.
In 2022, Jokic made just $2m from sponsors. That is far less money than all of the players on his level.
There are several factors as to why he earns so little, but his lack of social media presence certainly doesn’t help.
It’s not like he wouldn’t be popular online if he wanted. The NBA recently revealed that videos of Jokic received more than 316 million views in just 30 days, that’s more than any other NBA player in that time.
👟 The Boot Room
🤝 While Jokic is not going to be posting or tweeting anytime soon, his sponsor Nike is certainly doing its best to capitalise on its sponsorship deal.
This simple yet hilarious advert is the perfect fit for a player that doesn’t seem to want the flashy trappings that come with his success.
As Jokic explained moments after winning the NBA final, “The job is done, we can go home now.”
👕 While Nike is working on its comedy, Adidas has been busy making a work of art!
This special edition kit has been made to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Italian national team and will be featured in Italy's semi-final game against Spain in the UEFA Nations League on June 15.
📱 Social Media Madness
Athletic Interest can exclusively report that Pep Guardiola will be leaving Manchester City because he doesn’t feel financially supported by the owners and will be looking to join Tottenham after admiring the work of Daniel Levy for many years.
How do we know this? Well, we read about it on a random Twitter account with 300 followers.
That may seem like a weird strategy for journalism, and you would be very correct, but that didn’t stop one Qatari newspaper from doing the exact same thing and causing a major spike in Manchester United’s stock price.
On Tuesday this week, news broke that the Qatari bid for Manchester United was about to win out against Jim Ratcliffe. This caused the stock price of United to rocket more than 16% in just a few hours. The only problem…it was fake news. According to The Athletic, the news of the Qatari deal was first spread by a small Twitter account in Wales that posts illegal streams of football matches. This gained some traction through the Twitter algorithm (thanks Elon) and eventually caught the attention of the editor of the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan who shared the news. This supposed confirmation by a newspaper gave the story legitimacy and the stock market responded. Almost a quarter of a million shares were traded in just two and a half hours.
Despite the revelation that this was fake news, the share price is still rising. That may be because reports have now come out that seem to confirm the Qatari bid IS winning. Either this random Twitter account has inside info on the biggest deal in football, or they got a bit lucky.
😬 Spot the difference?
Yes, Erling Haaland has edited out the Calvin Klein logo from this photo. This may be because he doesn’t want to upset his current sponsors, which include apparel brand Nike. It also could be down to the fact that a previous photo of Haaland in Calvin Klein underwear saw a 45% sales increase for similar style underwear in one U.K. store, Haaland doesn’t want to give away that sort of endorsement for free!