You´re not the only one who loves Lionel Messi. The entire Argentine nation and now the milling masses that follow the hottest South Florida team also do. Big Inter Miami sponsors Apple TV+ and Royal Caribbean International are part of the lovefest too.
Messi Mania has well and truly taken hold in Miami and Major League Soccer in 2024. Current Inter sponsors, in particular the cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean, are reaping the benefits of Lionel´s golden left foot. The sumptuous assists and goals it typically creates are the icing on the cake.
The fact that he sells mucho merchandise, seats, and MLS streaming passes hand over fist doesn´t hurt one bit either.
Will Lionel Messi Dominate The World´s Biggest Sports Market?
“In the world’s largest consumer sports market, however, he has the challenge of continuing to capture attention, despite the fact the other four major leagues (the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL) have their established audiences and idols,” Ivan Martinho, a sports marketing professor at ESPN, declares.
When Messi inked his two-year contract in June of 2023, Apple TV+ racked up more than 300,000 new subscribers. MLS and Apple promised Messi some of the cash from subscriptions to MLS Season Pass, the league’s streaming package, in the words of The Athletic.
Messi: The Second Richest Athlete on The Planet
With the second-highest fortune in the world (a cool $655 million according to Forbes, behind only a certain Cristiano Ronaldo), Messi´s benefits are sure to continue. Lionel already has a sweet deal with Adidas. It´s vowed to give the Argentine part of the profits from merchandise sales in his new league.
Hard Rock International isn´t far behind with the Argie as its poster boy for a ´Milanese-style´ chicken sandwich. Finally, Messi has the option to buy a part of Inter Miami when he retires. David Beckham’s wheeling and dealing a few years back was a similar story.
Royal Caribbean Cruises to Cash with Messi
Royal Caribbean International came on board in January of 2024 as one of the newest Inter Miami sponsors while previous cryptocurrency backer XBTO bit the bullet. “It’s exciting to now combine forces, and I can’t wait for the future that our two organizations will forge for our industries, for our fans around the world, and of course, for our local communities here in South Florida,” Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty gushed.
By the way, what happened to XBTO after it also announced a multi-year deal with Inter Miami in 2021? The team opted to step further away from crypto sponsors while cruise ships continue to make a post-COVID comeback.
Their pals across town, the Miami Heat, just renamed their arena from FTX Arena to the Kaseya Center. After all, crypto exchange FTX once sat pretty with a value of $32 billion. It crashed in November 2022 after a liquidity crisis.