Report: Revenues From MLS Season Pass Subscriptions May be Part of Messi’s Compensation Package with Inter Miami
The soccer world was shocked earlier this week when it was announced that Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi was coming to play in the United States. Messi agreed to join the MLS side Inter Miami CF, leaving FC Barcelona behind and ending a pursuit by Miami that was years in the making.
That means one of the world’s most famous athletes could be streaming on MLS Season Pass before the 2023 MLS season is over. MLS Season Pass was first launched by Apple earlier this year to serve as the league’s official streaming platform, as part of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal that will allow Apple to stream every MLS game for the next decade.
The Messi-to-Miami deal will be a huge boon to Apple, which will undoubtedly see a nice boost to its subscription numbers for MLS Season Pass. Subscribers will be able to watch Inter Miami in any market with no blackouts, so fans of the beautiful game can watch one of its premier players from coast to coast. According to The Athletic, because of league rules, there are several potential windows that he could join Inter Miami this season: after the beginning of the July 5 transfer window, for the July 21 Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul, or in late August when MLS regular season play resumes after the Leagues Cup.
Even though Apple stands to gain quite a bit from the addition of Messi to an MLS team, it was still a surprise to most onlookers when The Athletic reported that the tech company may be preparing to help pay to bring the superstar to the States, as Apple has reportedly had discussions with MLS about paying Messi a share of revenues earned from MLS Season Pass. The details of Messi’s contract are still being finalized, but such an arrangement would reflect how beneficial Messi’s entrance into MLS will be for the league and Apple.
A company using streaming revenues to pay a sports star would be a novel contract situation, indeed. Major sports stars have been the beneficiaries of lucrative TV broadcasting deals for decades, but this is the first time a broadcasting deal between a league and a streaming platform has led to a big payday for a global superstar of Messi’s caliber.
Messi will have a big presence on Apple streaming in general if and when he does join Inter Miami. Apple TV+ has secured the rights to a four-part docuseries about Messi. The series will focus on Messi’s World Cup performances, including his storied 2022 campaign that saw Argentina defeat France in the world’s most popular live sports tournament.
MLS Season Pass
MLS Season Pass is a video streaming service that offers every match—including Leagues Cup and the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs—with no blackouts. It offers both English and Spanish announcers. MLS Season Pass also offers pre-match coverage, post-match analysis, highlights, player profiles, interviews, club content, match replays, live MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches, and more.