Inter Miami is golden on the field, sitting in first place overall in MLS in 2024. Off the field, the brand is now recognized worldwide, with kits seen from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to Florence.
On Wednesday evening, at the 2024 Sports Business Journal Awards Show, the club took home the top team award as well as the deal of the year award. The growth of the club has made its team the third-most followed sports team account on Instagram in the United States, behind the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Lionel Messi’s arrival has sparked a name change to the stadium, now known as Chase Stadium, and the club has signed a lucrative contract with Royal Caribbean to be the club’s principal kit sponsor. Additionally, Lionel Messi’s impressive run of form in MLS has exceeded all expectations for the Pink and Black and the Argentine.
Inter Miami won the team of the year award over NFL Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, reigning MLB World Series champion Texas Rangers, and NHL Stanley Cup winner Vegas Golden Knights.
Deal of the Year
The second award given to the club was for the unique deal to bring Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer. The deal includes a salary of just $20.4 million for Messi, plus a stake in the club upon retirement, percentages of the media rights deal with Apple TV, and a cut of the revenue generated by his kit sales from Adidas.
Messi himself has also starred in many TV commercials and is embarking on the creation of an energy drink.
Messi has given MLS much more exposure than the league could have ever dreamed of, and so far, the Argentine’s stay in the US has been a success.
