1.1 billion was the revenue of all teams combined for Major League Soccer in 2019.
16 billion was the revenue for the NFL.
7.9 billion was the revenue for the NBA.
10.7 billion was the MLB.
4.4 billion was the NHL.
Looking more at that, the average value of an MLS franchise is 550 million.
Comparing that
3.5 billion is the average value of an NFL franchise.
2.6 billion is the average for the NBA.
2 billion is the average for the MLB.
653 million is the average for the NHL.
American soccer has always been on a much lower tier in revenue, valuation and viewership over other sports leagues in the US, but some people believe a new announcement by Apple might be a sign of a change.
Apple to bring more sports to Apple TV+ announced a ten year deal with Major League Soccer at 2.5 billion dollars to stream there.
Which the deal wasn’t even an exclusive, where Fox Sports is now negotiating a similar deal.
The real question though is was this just Apple recklessly spending money to make Apple TV+ relevant or a sign soccer is a serious investment going forward into the US.
To understand that, some facts on soccer and demographics going into it.
First up, kids.
- 22% of kids ages 6-18 play basketball.
- 15% play baseball.
- 14% play soccer.
- 8% play tackle football.
- 6% play gymnastics
- 853,000 boys/girls are now playing high school soccer.
- 658,000 played in 2004.
- A 32% increase
For Major League Soccer as a whole, this has translated to growth there, where since 2012, revenue, viewership and merchandise sales have across the board averaged a 23% increase.
This makes a case that soccer in the US is here to grow.
The second point is what is undeniably a factor in this, which is immigration.
Soccer is and has been the number one sport in Latin America for decades, beating almost all other sports in revenue by as much as 3 to 1 in certain countries.
- 18.7% of Americans are hispanic today.
- Comparing that, it was 12.5% in 2000.
This growth is expected to continue, where America will be 21% hispanic by 2030 and 29% by 2050.
This makes a clear case that soccer is a sport to invest in, because the continued growth of the hispanic population and that influence on sports in the US.
Another point is the US will have 423-458 million people by 2050.
Versus 329 million people today.
Today, 61 million Americans are hispanic at 18.7% of the population.
In 2050, on the high end, the number will be 132 million.
Over a 100% population increase, also one with a rapidly growing average income.
It’s also important to know, it’s not just the hispanic population, where Asian, Indian and European immigrants also like soccer.
Final thoughts
Apple probably overpaid at 2.5 billion, where it doesn’t look like other platforms will be spending as much.
That said though, it is a strong value add for Apple TV+, where soccer is undeniably a growing market and one which by 2050 could by on par with baseball, basketball and even football.