Inter Miami Revenue Projected at MLS-Record $200M for 2024 With Messi – Sportico.com

Inter Miami CF is projecting $200 million in revenue in 2024, more than triple the target set before Lionel Messi’s arrival, according to chief business officer Xavier Asensi.

That number would dramatically outpace the best single-year revenue haul for any team in MLS history while placing Inter Miami among the world’s highest earning clubs. There were just 33 teams globally that had more than $200 million in revenue in the 2021-22 season, according to Sportico’s calculations, a list that includes just one team from the Americas (Brazil’s Flamengo) .

The revenue boost this year obviously includes ticket sales—Inter Miami is the league’s hottest ticket, both at home and on the road—but also money from corporate partnerships that were signed years ago. Asensi said Inter Miami has for the last few years pushed to sign sponsorships that included a clause that would increase payments to the team should a player of Messi’s caliber sign with the club.

The contracts don’t mention Messi by name, but instead they include escalators should Inter Miami sign a player with multiple Ballon d’Or awards—the prize given annually to the world’s best soccer player. (There are only two active players with more than two: Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo).

Those deals include the team’s jersey partnership with cryptocurrency platform XBTO, which was announced as one of the largest sponsorship deals in MLS club history. (An XBTO spokesman declined to comment on the financial specifics of the deal).

Not all of Inter Miami’s commercial partnerships include the clause, but the team has made a point of emphasizing it in negotiations, Asensi said. He added that the team declined to sign some potential sponsorships in the past few years when a partner balked at the detail.

Last year Sportico valued Inter Miami at $585 million, 10^th highest in the league. That was before the team signed one of the world’s most famous athletes, and the move has instantly changed its commercial outlook. Owner Jorge Mas said in a televised interview last month with CNBC that the club’s valuation could reach $1.3-$1.5 billion next year.

Sportico’s calculations projected $54 million in revenue for the team in 2022. It projected Atlanta United as the league’s highest-earning club, at $103 million in revenue.

The sponsorship escalators were not the only part of the Inter Miami sponsorship strategy that will help the club maximize value following Messi’s arrival. Inter Miami also structured a number of partnerships so that they would expire at the end of the year, allowing the club to hit the market at a point where its assets are likely most valuable. Messi recently signed a 2 ½ year deal, which means he is under contract with the team for at least two more seasons after this one.

The XBTO deal is one of those expiring deals and the team will be seeking a jersey partner for next season. Outside of stadium naming rights, the front-of-jersey ad partner is one of the most valuable commercial assets it can sell. The league’s most valuable partnership in 2022—NYCFC’s partnership with Etihad Airways—paid $9 million. (When that deal was struck, Etihad was owned by the UAE government, and NYCFC’s backers include UAE sovereign wealth).

Inter Miami is also adding partners in the middle of the season. On Friday the club announced a new deal with Royal Caribbean International.

With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen.