Inter Miami made a big-money bet on Messi, and it's paying off with sponsors, fans

When Inter Miami broke precedent to bring on Lionel Messi, signing him to a contract worth $150 million, the club was making a big bet that it would be worth it. Since Messi joined the league on July 15, 2023, Inter Miami has almost doubled their revenue, the club has told ESPN, making the economic returns clear.

Before Messi's arrival, Inter Miami generated revenue of $50-$60 million in 2022, according to the club. It swelled to $120-$130 million in 2023, but in 2024, the team is projected to earn over $200 million in revenue, dwarfing previous numbers and setting a club record. This year's explosion in revenue can clearly be attributed to record-breaking sponsorship deals, unprecedented demand for tickets, merchandise, and all things Messi mania.

"It is completely night and day [after signing Messi], because what we are doing now with the team is totally on an international level," said Xavier Asensi, Inter Miami president of business operations. "Now we are talking about the global interest. Now it is football, not soccer."

A sponsorship boom

Messi's arrival drew international attention to Inter Miami, propelling companies to view the club as a global brand with untapped potential and initiate contact for potential deals. The attention brought on by Messi's arrival allowed for the club to work with industry leaders, replacing deals with smaller-end businesses.

Miami signed 11 multi-year partnerships this season, including deals with Audi, JPMorgan Chase, Duracell, Lowe's, Visa and LaCroix. Audi stands as the only brand to also sponsor Major League Soccer, while the rest sought to work with Inter Miami alone. The deals with Fracht to appear on the jersey sleeve and Royal Caribbean to be displayed front and center on jerseys, in particular, mark record-breaking deals as the largest in their respective categories in Major League Soccer history.

"Inter Miami has an international appeal, which is a very big difference for that team [compared to before Messi joined]," said Luciana Resende Lotze, Visa's head of marketing for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Despite obviously being a team from the United States that plays in MLS, it has many fans around the world. That's why the partnership is international, and the idea is that we can then do those promotions and talk about that sponsorship all over the world."

Lowe's, a brand that stands as a direct rival of MLS official partner Home Depot, also looked to align with Inter Miami due to their widespread reach in the wake of Messi's arrival. The company's VP of brand marketing, Gerardo Soto, confirmed Lowe's was not interested in competing for a league-wide sponsorship, admitting it made more sense for the North Carolina-based brand to work directly with Miami.

"Inter Miami, knowing the growth that it has had in the past year, with the arrival of Messi and some others of the stars that they brought on, they not only became a staple of the South Florida market, they're now an international brand, honestly," he said. "You can go to any game and you'll see half the stadium full of Inter Miami jerseys and then the other half is the local team. And they're all there to see Messi."

Lowe's also signed Messi independently to a separate deal, becoming the first soccer player to join the roster of NFL and NBA players sponsored by the home improvement company. Only four months after announcing the partnership with Inter Miami and Messi, Soto said Lowe's investment has been worth it.

"These partnerships have already been a massive success for us and given us tangible results," he said.

Jerseys and tickets in high demand

Sponsorships are just one way Inter Miami increases its revenue, Asensi said. Traditionally there are three pillars that drive the majority of the team's income: (1) sponsorships or commercial partnerships; (2) game-day operations, including ticket sales and concessions, and; (3) broadcast rights.

Inter Miami doesn't count on the income from broadcast rights due to Major League Soccer's single-entity operations. The league consolidated media rights -- grouping together the broadcast licenses of all 29 clubs -- to sell as a combined deal to Apple, who exclusively streams MLS games on Apple TV. Under this system, each MLS team receives a cut from the contract with Apple, and there's no way for clubs to increase their share. (Inter Miami declined to disclose the amount earned from the Apple deal.)

But the South Florida club is seeing plenty of growth in revenue from the team's game-day experience and online merchandise, driven in large part by Messi mania.

Messi's Inter Miami CF jersey is the best-selling sports jersey in the Adidas sports portfolio, according to the club, and ranked No. 1 in the list of highest-selling MLS jerseys in 2024. His jersey also led the MLS rankings in 2023, per MLS, despite only signing in midseason.

The jersey of Messi's teammate, Luis Suárez, sits at No. 2 on the list of top-selling Adidas MLS jerseys for 2024 in the league's online store. Inter Miami players secured four slots on the top 25 jersey list: Messi at No. 1, Suarez at No. 2, Sergio Busquets at No. 11 and Jordi Alba at No. 15.

From 2022 to July 2024, MLS jersey sales have increased by 41% overall -- in no small part due to Messi's arrival, which was followed by the additions of Suarez, Busquets and Alba.

"Inter Miami ownership has said from the very beginning -- our goal has always been to be a global club with strong roots in our South Florida community," the club said in a statement. "With the signings of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, as well as the Club's historic 2023 Leagues Cup title, there is no doubt Inter Miami CF is revolutionizing futbol in North America."

Messi's debut in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 21, 2023 against Cruz Azul served as the first glimpse into the team's new reality. Thousands flocked to Chase Stadium, with fans lined up around the block for the opportunity to purchase the now-famous 2023 pink home kit, while tickets sold out on Ticketmaster.

Demand hasn't died down, either. Inter Miami sold out of their season ticket offerings months ahead of the 2024 season, prior to the schedule being revealed, and fans renewed at a club record 90%, which the team said ranks among the highest in the league. This is despite Miami's premium prices for tickets compared to the rest of MLS.

In 2024, Inter Miami season tickets ranged from $867 to $2,720 for standard seats, $4,420 to $7,650 in the northwest midfield area, up to $13,005 for club seats and $42,840 for suites. To compare, Orlando City's 2024 season tickets started at $324 for the supporters' section and topped out at $2,898 for a sideline field-level package, which included food and beverage. Reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew provide fans this season with options starting at $657 in the Nordecke, the main supporters' section of Lower.com Field, while premium seats go up to $8,478. The LA Galaxy's 2025 offerings start at $481 for supporters and max out at $7,790.

Overall, the prices for season tickets varies league-wide, but Miami's packages stand as some of the most expensive in MLS at the moment -- and fans eager to see Messi are willing to pay for it.

Game-day operations revenue streams extend beyond tickets to merchandise sold from the team store. Since Messi's arrival, fans from around the world continue to flood the small team shop inside Chase Stadium in search of the authentic jerseys, Messi-themed T-shirts and a variety of unique Miami memorabilia. Given the demand for merchandise, the club decided to open the team store Monday to Friday year-round. Prior to Messi's arrival, the store would only be open during game days or very select opportunities.

But even outside the MLS regular season or playoffs, Inter Miami can still capitalize from those fans eager to see Messi. Since Messi's arrival, the three-month break between MLS Cup in early December and the start of the new season in late February is an opportunity to generate income.

This past offseason, the team participated in the club's first-ever global tour playing matches in El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Japan.

The governments of El Salvador and Hong Kong both paid an undisclosed amount to Inter Miami to play against their national team in the friendly. In Hong Kong, the government confirmed it spent almost $2 million to organize the match, although it's unclear how much of that went to Inter Miami. Inter Miami would not disclose the earnings from each preseason friendly.

While 2024 already stands as a historic year for the club on and off the field, Miami is already leveraging the momentum Messi created into the future.

The club recently broke ground on their new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, which boasts "58 acres of public parks and green space, a tech hub, restaurants and shops, soccer fields for the community, a 25,000 stadium for Inter Miami, and many more features."

Messi's contract runs through the 2025 MLS season with an additional option for 2026, giving Inter Miami a glimmer of hope that the star player will inaugurate Miami Freedom Park. Despite the uncertainty, the team is using the current momentum propelled by Messi to push season ticket sales and potential sponsors.

Time will tell if the forward extends his contract and inaugurates the new grounds, but if he does, Miami can expect an even larger economic boom.