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Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic’s weekly sports business briefing. Name-dropped today: Lionel Messi, Andrew Marchand, Tottenham Spurs, Lewis Hamilton, Travis Hunter, RaMell Ross and more. Let’s go:
Driving the Conversation: What’s next for MLS?
With Year 30 of MLS kicking off this week — including the launch of its 30th team, San Diego FC — I think it’s worth asking: Has MLS broken through yet?
The bull case: San Diego’s owners paid MLS a $500M expansion fee, sponsorship sales seem healthy and Lionel Messi is still playing (for a staggering $20 million a year, plus team equity and marketing deals) and churning out highlights. Plus the in-stadium fan experience is awesome, and game attendance totals are very impressive.
(To emphasize that last point: MLS was the second-most attended soccer league in the world last year, behind the Premier League.)
The bear case: The world’s best in-their-prime players would never play in MLS, the lack of a promotion-relegation system has opened the door to a competitor domestic league, Messi is in the last year of his contract and the Apple TV deal has limited exposure to potential new fans.
(To emphasize that last point: Last year’s MLS Cup championship game, airing on Fox and Fox Deportes, was not only half the audience of the year before, but well behind the NWSL championship game on CBS and even behind the title game of the second-rung USL.)
Open questions:
- What happens after Messi, 37, retires?
- Will the revamped Club World Cup this summer or World Cup next year have any relevance to MLS?
- And most of all, 30 years in, is MLS that much closer to being a “Big Five” major pro U.S. league than it was in 1996?
I asked my colleague Paul Tenorio, one of The Athletic’s U.S. soccer reporters (and who is working on a book about the “Messi Effect” and the growing popularity of soccer in America), for his perspective:
💬 We can definitely say it’s much closer than it was in 1996 — no U.S. soccer league of value existed when MLS launched in 1996! Now it has stadiums around the country that regularly put tens of thousands of fans in the seats. So if we’re measuring “major” based on relevance in markets, butts in seats in stadiums, etc., I think it’s definitely closer.
In terms of quality, is it closer to the rest of the world than when it launched? Yes. But is it anywhere close to penetrating into the top five soccer leagues in the world? I think that’s a tough argument to make.
Is there a path to the top? Yes, of course. MLS has built out infrastructure and has an incredibly wealthy ownership group. Right now, it’s more about desire to get there and the timeline owners decide on to accomplish that growth.
MLS has been a gateway to getting more U.S. fans interested in soccer. Its downstream effects notably include a national infrastructure to support that Club World Cup in 2025 (and World Cup in 2026) and the illumination of a market for pro women’s soccer in the U.S. — including the latest version of the NWSL, which feels like it has way more cultural capital than MLS right now (the former’s upcoming docuseries looks fantastic, by the way).
U.S. interest in soccer — on the whole — has surged over the past 30 years. MLS has played a part in normalizing that. So has the success of the U.S. women’s national team. And so has NBC, which brought Premier League to the American masses.
Not quite as much relevance as MLS would have liked, but there is always tomorrow — the consistent theme for the league.
Get Caught Up
Big talkers from the sports business industry:
- Diana Taurasi retires. TV next? Beyond the well-deserved tributes, could Taurasi make a successful transition to TV commentator?
She has paired with Sue Bird for phenomenal “alt-casts” during the women’s NCAA Tournament (and an NBA Christmas Day game in 2023). Her expertise and on-camera authenticity make her a natural game or studio analyst across all of hoops.
- ESPN and MLB break up. Always read Andrew Marchand on stories like this. MLB tried to lean on the NFL’s model of creating skinny packages of rights for alternative networks (in MLB’s case, Apple on Friday nights and Roku on Sunday mornings), but it seems to have only contributed to devaluing their premier Sunday night rights package. And I probably can’t tell you how to watch your team next season.
- Everyone watched U.S.-Canada hockey. Why did last week’s final break through across sports fandom, to the tune of 16 million viewers in North America?
National pride, definitely. Awesome rivalry. Current geopolitical intrigue. Also: Don’t discount that it happened to fall on an otherwise mostly dormant day of the sports calendar, when it could command all the attention.
Expect to see more leagues — NBA and MLS seem to fit the model — try to import 4 Nations-style magic for their all-star games.
Related-ish: The brand behind the ubiquitous “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” merch line has done $6 million in revenue, per Sportico — which also leads us to this NASCAR X Unrivaled collab. Consider me curious, Stewie!
- Tottenham Hotspur don’t want to be called “Tottenham.” Wait … what? Fascinating development in the world of sports brand-building.
- The end of the Yankees’ strict facial hair rules. My colleague Tyler Kepner had the best perspective on one of the quirkiest conduct codes in sports.
Other current obsessions: Woj auctioning off his old news-breaking phones and media credentials … Overtime getting into tennis … Lewis Hamilton’s endorsement deal with Lululemon … “We Beat the Dream Team” on Max … RIP Al Trautwig … F1 helmet reveals for the 2025 season …
TA Edge: A central question at the NFL combine
Earlier this week, I was in Indianapolis, where the NFL is holding the annual draft combine. A center of attention: Colorado’s Heisman Trophy-winning, two-way sensation Travis Hunter.
Most folks have no doubt Hunter could play either DB or WR in the NFL at an elite level. (And maybe both!)
In the hotel lobby, I tracked down Jacob Robinson, co-author of our incredible Scoop City newsletter and an NFL savant, for his take: Which position should Hunter play?
💬 Follow the money. The highest-paid corner (Patrick Surtain) makes $24 million a year. Ja’Marr Chase is looking at $35 million when he signs his extension this offseason. If Hunter is just a top-12 receiver, he can still make more than the highest-paid corner.
Grab Bag 💰
Combine history, a reading rec and more. Time for a lightning round.
Did You Know?
The NFL Scouting Combine launched in 1982, and the league didn’t allow cameras at the event for decades, a notion that seems absurd now.
The combine finally got to TV in 2004 as a signature piece of programming for the then-nascent NFL Network, fans loved the glimpse inside the process and it has been a staple TV event for the league ever since.
Name to Know: RaMell Ross
If you’re a sports fan, your rooting interest for the Oscars on Sunday is Ross, nominated twice for his stunning film “Nickel Boys” — Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Ross played hoops at Georgetown in the early 2000s before shifting to cinema as an award-winning documentarian and filmmaker.
What I’m Reading: Sonny Vaccaro’s memoir
The former sports marketing exec is one of the most influential people in the business history of basketball, a legendary character who had a “Zelig”-like presence in the 1980s, ‘90s and ‘00s — from the origins of Air Jordan to college teams becoming de facto Nike franchises to LeBron’s shoe deal. His memoir “Legends and Soles” dropped yesterday, and I’m really enjoying it so far.
Beat Dan in Connections: Sports Edition
Puzzle #156
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My first “Next Time!” Diabolical! This is your week to prevail. Play the game here!
Worth Your Time
Beyond the Sean McVay effect: Inside the youth revolution that reshaped NFL coaching.
Two more:
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(Top photo: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
