Messi to MLS: What it Means for the Rapids

Lionel Messi is signing with Inter Miami CF. After almost a year of speculation, the unlikely has happened. The Argentinian, World Cup champion, and one the greatest soccer players of all time has turned down Saudi Arabia for the United States. Messi to MLS, Here We Go!

Messi’s at worst the third best player in the history of the game. His coming to MLS could be as big or bigger than David Beckham 16 years ago. There’s a bunch of content out there about what this means for the league, Miami, him, etc. This is Burgundy Wave, so I’ll be focusing on what this mean for Colorado Rapids.

Trickle Down Messi-nomics

Juanners coined the term Trickle Down Messi-nomics on the C38 Podcast earlier this week. It’s a good term. Here’s why:

Reports are out that every team in MLS is contributing financially to bringing Messi to MLS. He has to be the highest paid player in league history, turning down $400 million annually to play in Saudi Arabia. The highest MLS salary ever is Lorenzo Insigne of Toronto FC at $14 million.

MLS is locked into the Apple TV deal for a decade. Are they getting a cut of the new sign ups from all the fans Latin American countries? MLS does have some revenue sharing across their tickets, merchandise, etc. What do those numbers look like?

Are the 29 MLS teams all paying 1/29th of Messi’s salary or is Inter paying more than everyone else? Whatever percentage the Rapids are paying, will they get that percentage of the additional revenue that comes in from ticket sales, Messi jerseys, etc.?

There’s certain revenue streams MLS and clubs can tap into to take advantage of this. There’s ones they can’t. I can’t see the Rapids being able to say “UCHealth, we’re playing at Miami in 2024, give us an extra $10,000 even though we have a contract through 2029.”

This move will be amazing financially for Inter Miami and for the league as a whole. Rapids fans have a right to wonder the following:

Is KSE paying part of Messi’s salary for him to play for an opponent? If so, how much? How much additional revenue are they getting from Messi to MLS? What are they doing with that money? Why would they pay for a superstar to play for another team but not invest that money into the Rapids directly? Is the club going to try to increase season ticket prices to see Messi play the Rapids when . . .

Don’t expect Messi to be playing at DICK’s:

Colorado Rapids have yet to play Inter in any completion, four years into the South Florida club starting play. Correct me if I’m wrong Jason Maxwell, that has to be a record for the longest time the Rapids have gone before their first game against an expansion team.

Colorado have only seven regular season games this year against Eastern Conference teams. With 13 other teams in the Western Conference, the Rapids can play no more than nine games against cross-conference opposition for a 34-game season. On average, you’re hosting an Eastern Conference team once every seven to eight years.

FOX, TelevisaUnivision, and whomever else has cable TV rights to MLS over Messi’s time in the league will push hard to have as many Miami games on national TV as possible. Don Garber and his suits are going to pick ideal markets, matchups, and stadiums for Messi’s Western Conference away days. Colorado’s not making that cut. They might even be last choice. Vancouver, San Jose, and Salt Lake seem like they’d be down there too.

Next year, Messi’s probably going to LA twice, Austin, Seattle, and/or Kanas City. But hey, the Rapids might finally play in South Florida. Messi needs an easy three points where he can score a free kick that goes viral. Have fun paying NBA Finals prices for that away day, Rapids fans.

Further evidence of the financial gap between Colorado and everyone else:

We knew Miami was capable of spending big on DPs, legally and illegally. This splash could kick off a record summer transfer window though. RSL could be spending $6 million to bring Cristian Arango back to MLS. Rapids fans were interested in him when he was about to leave LAFC this winter. FC Cincinnati might spend $7 million of that Brenner money on a new striker.

Meanwhile, the Rapids record transfer fee is still $2.7 million for Juan Ramírez from eight years ago. The gap was wide before Messi. It feels like it will continue to grow in the MLS 4.0 era of Messi League Soccer.

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images