Watching Mathew McConaughey talking with Christian Pulisic and discussing his involvement with Austin FC in the MLS made me wonder if that was for fun or has soccer become kind of a hipster investment project.
Kevin Durant was seen recently talking with Philidalphia Union.
I’ve seen tons of investment groups talking about the ceiling that the NFL is near and the impossibility to get involved there or the NBA. The decline of the MLB and NHL are noted. Also funny enough I noticed how ESPN’s top level navigation had changed (dropping MLB and NHL took a nose dive) and they finally incorporated soccer into the main site a few years ago..
Is it a real investment opportunity or just a fun project for the wealthy?
LeBron James is part owner (2%) of UCL Champions Liverpool in England.
Steve Nash is majority owner of Spanish club Real Mallorca and has been featured for FIFA and been a commentator for soccer in Europe.
Tony Robins and Will Ferrell are part of a huge group that own LAFC including Magic Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm, Allen Shapiro, Chad Hurley and Vincent Tan.
Drew Carey shunned his Cleveland roots and is part owner of Seattle Sounders.
Diplo & Didier Drogba are owner of UCL Club Phoenix Rising
Carmelo Anthony is owner of Puerto Rico FC of the NASL
The list goes on. Could there be a day where we see NFL players sporting USMNT jerseys? That day has come and gone – JJ Watt, a Chelsea fan already and who is dating Chicago Red Star’s and USWNT soccer player Kealia Ohai
So how does soccer compare to other the big sports in viewership, attendance and valuation? Here’s a few numbers to chew on in some of the biggest sports teams in the US.
Viewership 2019
NFL
Super Bowl
98,100,000
AFC Championship
53,900,000
NFC Championship
44,000,000
NFC Division
38,190,000
NFC Wild Card
35,890,000
NFL Draft
11,100,000
49ers vs Seahawks
23,300,000
Season Avg
16,500,000
NCAAF
Championship
25,280,000
OSU v Wash
16,780,000
NCAA Bball
Championship
19,630,000
MSU v Duke (8)
16,200,000
TT v MSU (4)
15,840,000
Oregon vs Michigan
1,830,000
NBA
Game 6
18,760,000
Game 5
18,600,000
Finals Avg
15,100,000
Lakers vs Bucks
2,780,000
Season Average
1,500,000
MLB
Game 7
23,000,000
World Series Avg
14,000,000
All Star Game
8,140,000
Red Sox v Yankees
449,000
July Average
198,000
NHL
Game 7
8,720,000
Finals Average
5,460,000
All Star Game
1,087,000
Winter Classic
2,972,000
Flyers v Penguins
1,969,000
Season Average
302,000
UFC
244
910,000
MLS & Club Soccer
UCL Final
2,958,000
Liga MX Morelia v America
1,800,000
Liga MX Necaxa v Monterrey
1,300,000
MLS Cup
1,270,000
Liga MX America v Tigres
1,100,000
EPL Liverpool v City
1,135,000
EPL Leicester v Arsenal
779,000
Liga MX Avg
737,000
MLS LAFC v Galaxy
462,000
MLS Season Avg
268,000
Soccer
World
World Cup ’19 Women Final
16,870,000
World Cup ’18 Men Final
11,800,000
US v England WC ’19 Women Semi
8,790,000
Gold Cup Final
8,540,000
Mexico v Canada GC Group
2,670,000
US vs Curacao GC Quarter
1,547,000
US vs Jamaica GC Semi
1,139,000
US vs Venezuela Friendly
1,037,000
US vs Canada Nations League
352,000
FIFA U17 Korea v Mexico
758,000
Social Media Following
Followers (mostly Twitter)
Cristiano Ronaldo (instagram)
158,910,000
Neymar (instagram)
112,710,000
Lionel Messi (instagram)
112,110,000
Cristiano Ronaldo
81,900,000
David Beckham (instagram)
54,890,000
LeBron James (instagram)
47,910,000
Neymar
45,000,000
LeBron James
44,300,000
Real Madrid
33,500,000
Barcelona
31,600,000
NFL
24,900,000
NBA
29,000,000
MLB
8,500,000
UFC
7,300,000
NHL
6,300,000
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
6,300,000
USWNT
2,500,000
USMNT
2,200,000
NCAA March Madness
1,400,000
Atlanta FC
997,300
Christian Pulisic
370,000
NCAA F
355,400
EPL
134,300
USYNT
115,000
US Soccer
71,000
Average Attendance
NCAA F Michigan
111,459
NCAA F Penn St
105,678
NFL Cowboys
90,920
NFL NY Jets
78,583
La Liga Barcelona
75,208
EPL Man U
74,879
NFL Avg
66,648
La Liga Real Madrid
60,967
EPL Arsenal
59,897
MLS Atlanta
52,510
MLB Dodgers
49,065
USMNT vs Mexico* single game
47,960
MLS Sounders
40,247
MLB Cardinals
42,967
USMNT vs Venezuela* single game
23,955
NHL Chicago
21,402
MLS Avg
21,310
NHL Dallas
21,220
NBA 76ers
20,441
NBA Bulls
20,084
USMNT Avg
19,530
MLB Avg
17,820
NBA Avg
17,757
NHL Avg
17,320
USWNT ’18 Avg
14,064
Team Values
Team
Value
NFL Cowboys
$5B
MLB New York Yankees
$4.6B
La Liga Real Madrid
$4.24B
La Liga Barcelona
$4.02B
NBA Knicks
$4B
EPL Man U
$3.81B
NFL Patriots
$3.8B
NBA Lakers
$3.7B
NBA Warriors
$3.5B
NFL Giants
$3.3B
MLS Atlanta
$500,000,000
MLS Galaxy
$480,000,000
There is a lot to unpack from all of this data, but some clear signs that soccer belongs in the conversation.
The NFL is clearly in a league of their own for viewership and command the current American TV screen time. They have had bumps, but are back on track once again in 2019. The opportunities beyond that are there.
NBA has had some great movement of late, but are on a downward trend since the villainous Golden State has derailed and Zion Williamson’s injury slowed their new super hero’s rise. LeBron is aging and a changing of the guard is needed.
The value of investing in soccer in general is real, though at the highest levels what those teams are worth will continue to be a battle ground. Nearly every season there are rumors of clubs like Newcastle and others who might be for sale.
On the lower leagues, how far can they go? MLS is a young league their growth is well documented, though it’ll be interesting to see now that they are at capacity for growth in teams and will likely take a hit over the next few years in quality as they spread the top players out.
The value of investing in the US national team remains a mystery to me. It depends on how they value their organization and it’ll be critical we get to the 2022 World Cup. US Soccer had a ton of challenges in 2019 in the public eye with telling articles from NY Times, glass door reviews, a mass exodus of employees at the youth coaching levels and Wallstreet Journal’s coverage of their financial and lawsuit challenges will put a dark cloud of the organization itself. They didn’t make the 2018 World Cup losing to a small island nation who was eliminated. In their new leadership group they already have a loss to Canada to their name and were embarrassed at home by their rival Mexico 3-0 in a friendly after losing a Gold Cup final to them.
On the flip side the rise of Christian Pulisic and a tremendous youth movement might be enough to move the program forward. His success in the Premier League is unprecedented and with Matthew McConaughey taking the time to visit at Chelsea and JJ Watt being a fan it can only help the US men’s national program. The continuing rise of young Americans in Europe at the top ranks can only help the game get more popular and be more valuable as the next generation loves playing this sport.
In 2019, Don Garber and MLS announced they would expand to 30 teams. A year later, Don Garber said the cities of Las Vegas, Indianapolis, San Diego, Detroit, and Phoenix were clubs interested in joining MLS. Four of those cities had a USL or NISA club at the time of the announcement. Today, one of those USL teams has ceased to exist, another may be in jeopardy now, and the NISA club is now a USL club.
On April 25th, 2024, the Mayor of Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett, announced an unnamed ownership group would put in a bid for an MLS club. Along with the announcement, the owners of Indy XI (the USL Championship team in Indianapolis), Keystone Group, announced the City had backed out of the $1 billion fund for Eleven Park. The stadium was announced in 2022 and was planned to be a 20,000-seat stadium. It would also include additional apartments, office buildings, and other amenities. Last year, the stadium broke ground. That means that the mayor and city council agreed to stop the funding of a sports facility in mid-construction that would also add additional jobs to the people of Indianapolis and stop their backing of an existing club for a potential club. If the city does not get the bid, it could have repercussions for elected officials. When you look at social media, the people of Indianapolis are not happy about the announcement.
This is not the first time a team in the USL was in danger by the expansion by the MLS. San Diego Loyal played their final season in 2023 after the announcement by the MLS that they would expand to San Diego with the club San Diego FC. SD Loyal made the announcement just three months after San Diego FC was announced. The reason was due to not being able to find a stadium solution. As for San Diego FC, they will play their matches at the Snapdragon Stadium, which the Loyal could have used to play their matches. Instead of looking for a solution to integrate San Deigo Loyal, MLS had their club created which led to the destruction of a club in a rival league.
Miami had a soccer club before Inter Miami, Miami FC. Miami is a different story than San Diego. Unlike the Loyal, Miami FC attracts a very small audience. They averaged only 190 people a game a year before the arrival of Inter Miami, per Transfermarkt. It has gone up since Inter Miami’s inaugural season. Last season, the average attendance was 1,432 and this season it is 826 so far. The problem falls on the people of Miami though. Inter Miami increased their attendance by 35% to 17,061 last year from the prior season. It still begs the question of how much longer Miami FC will last when they are competing against a club with Leonel Messi for attendance.
Las Vegas Lights is another USL Championship club but are in a city being looked at by MLS also for expansion. Even worse, the current owner, José Bautista, is not part of the organization and is in talks with Don Garber to join the MLS, who would be the owners of Aston Villa. Phoenix is a different story. The USL team, Phoenix Rising, talked to MLS to join the league, which is a more positive solution. Tampa Bay Rowdies did the same thing when they were pursuing an MLS bid.
MLS does speak to the current existing clubs in the city. They did it with Louisville City, San Diego Loyal, Sacramento Republic, and others, but when that failed, they move in with their own clubs, i.e., San Diego FC and now potentially Indy MLS club. What MLS is doing is not helping the growth of the sport. They are aiming to monopolize the sport by destroying their competition, USL. This would not be a problem if USSF would create an open system or step in to put it to a stop. If MLS is the sole soccer league in the US with only 30-40 cities with a team, then you would isolate the hundreds of cities that have fans and players without a club to help accomplish their dream. Even in other sports leagues in the US we do not see a campaign like this. NFL did not actively work to end the XFL and the other football leagues. The NHL and the MLB have minor leagues all over the country. I do not prefer having minor leagues in soccer here in the US. It would be preferable that the MLS and USL work together to expand the sport and/or USSF implement policies that protect smaller leagues from bigger leagues.
Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X and us_keeper on Instagram)
US Soccer kit releases are something fans get excited about and lately have resulted in disappointment. US Soccer’s recent schedule for kits release during the cycle has seen them releasing another road and or third kits in Gold Cup years and home and away pairs in the even years.
US Soccer is expected to release the 2024 Copa America kits for the USMNT in the coming weeks headed into the Nations League Finals. Last Thursday evening Footy Headlines, who has had a good track record of leaking USMNT kits in the past, provided the below pictures of the home and away USMNT kits. These kits haven’t officially been announced by Nike or US Soccer, but the anticipated announcement is expected in the coming weeks headed into the Nations League Final.
Photo from Footheadlies.com – February 29, 2024
Fake Leaked USMNT Kits
The below USMNT kits were leaked over the last decade, but none of them came to fruition, it’s fun to look at what could have been for the USMNT.
2014 World Cup Kits
These leaked kits headed into the 2014 FIFA World Cup were where loved by many USMNT fans due to the sash and the use of the Centennial Crest, but unfortunately, these kits were fakes and never released.
Photo from SportsLogos.Net – September 13, 2013
2015 Alternative Kit & 2016 Copa America
Generally, US Soccer releases an alternate kit in the years that the Gold Cup is played. This leak kit was reported back in 2015 by NBCSports and then again by MLS Soccer when it was suggested it could be used during the Copa América Centenario.
Photo from NBCSports – April 2, 2015
2022 World Cup Kits
I would have much preferred for the USMNT to have worn these kits at the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they ended up, but alas it was another leaked kit that never was.
Photo from proscoccerwire.com – May 6, 2022
2024 Copa America Kit
This rumored kit for the USMNT was based on similar kits worn by the USMNT at the 1924 Olympics and the 1930 World Cup.
Photo from the18.com via Footieheadlines.com – September 14, 2023
History of US Soccer Crest and USMNT kits
Over ten years ago I began my research of USMNT soccer data in search of a single source site, which I quickly found didn’t exist. Through my research, I started to comply with old USMNT kits and crests from the past. As I acquired more and more kits worn by the USMNT and was able to start to fill in the gaps between them I decided to digitally recreate these kits and share them with the USMNT fans.
Here’s a look at what I was able to find while it seems like a lot I am sure there are many more kits I missed and if so I would love to know which ones so I could create and update what I have already.
History of US Soccer Crests
Here’s the history of the US Soccer crests. I had to recreate several of these crests based on old pictures I found throughout my research since there were no digital images available.
USMNT Kits – 1916-1973
These were the first kits worn by the USMNT which weren’t sponsored. There are variations of these kits worn by the USMNT which comprised of variations of crests and styles, likely due to available funds during this time. My favorite kits in the group are the ones with the sashes from the 1928 and 1936 Olympics and the 1959 Pan American Games.
USMNT Kits – 1974-1983
The group of kits for the USMNT were the first that were sponsored by Adidas. There were a lot of similar styles of kits during this time which really lacked any creativity. My favorite kits in the group are the ones from the middle to late 1970s, there is something about their simplicity and clean look.
USMNT Kits – 1984-1994
Adidas’s 20-year run of creating kits for US Soccer ended in 1994, with few quality kits made during those couple of decades, which is ironic considering how nice Adidas’s kits are today. My favorite kits in the group are the 1985/1986 blue hoop kit and the 1988 Blue Olympic kit.
USMNT Kits – 1995-2011
In 1995 Nike took over the creation of the US Soccer kits and started by making three similar kits for the 1995 Copa America and 1996 third kit for the US Cup. Nike did release three Special Edition kits in 2003, 2004, and 2006, which were only worn for one match each. My favorite kits in the group all had a sash on them, which were both the 2010 World Cup kits and the red 2011 Gold Cup kit.
USMNT Kits – 2012-Current
Most USMNT fans would agree that recent kits released by Nike haven’t held the standard seen in the 2010s, where the hoops/stripes that some many fans loved for the 2012 Waldo kits were incorporated. My unsung kits of this group are the 2018 home kit, which would have been worn at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2017 Gold Cup kit.
USMNT Kits going forward
Nike and US Soccer signed what was considered a historical long-term sponsor agreement, in November 2021, that went into effect in Janaury 2023 that will run for at least a decade which will cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics and possibly a 2027 or 2031 Women’s World Cup hosted in the United States, so for fans who has hoped for a different kit creator they will have to wait a while.
Once the 2024 Copa America kits are released US Soccer will likely only release one more kit for the 2025 Gold Cup for the USMNT before releasing the 2026 World Cup kits. One idea that I’ve had for a long time was for US Soccer to release Special Edition Kits with styles from the past, with the limited release of those kits, coupled with playing matches in locations and venues throughout the United States to build the fan base and excitement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In conclusion, I am somewhat optimistic that US Soccer and Nike will create some variation of the 2012 Waldo kit & 1994 Stats and Denim kit to be worn as the hosts of the 2026 World Cup.
Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X/Formally Twitter)
Photo From: USA Today-John Locher, AP – 18, June 2023 – 2023 Concacaf Nations League
As the fog hovered over Estadio Parque Artigas Stadium in Paysandú, Uruguay in the 58th minute Eric Wynalda received the ball on the right wing with Joe-Max Moore making a run forward and in front of Wynalda who delivered a pass to Moore who then went down preventing the ball from being taken away and sending it back to Wynalda who slides forward and scores the third goal of the match and his third goal of the tournament, making it 3-0 USA over tenth-ranked Argentinians and all but sealing the win and the top spot in Group C at the 1995 Copa America. The win for this USMNT consisted of 17 players from the 1994 World Cup team who reached their pinnacle with this group of players finishing fourth at this Copa America.
Over the previous three decades, the USMNT has had some of the biggest wins in the team’s history. During the 1999 Confederations Cup, which was played in Mexico the USMNT played a hard-fought match against the fifth-ranked Germans defeating them 2-0 in the final group stage match and finishing third overall in the tournament. The USMNT would also have an even bigger result against second-ranked Spain in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup when they ended Spain’s 35-game unbeaten streak in a 2-0 victory that would send them to the final against Brazil.
2024 is the midway point of the 2026 FIFA World Cup cycle, and the next two windows for the USMNT who as a team and federation need to start ascending to their apex with this group to ensure that they have an amazing performance at the 2026 World Cup.
The USMNT has already played their first match, a 1-0 defeat to Slovenia, but need to quickly focus on the March window 2024 CONCACAF Nations League Finals where they will play Jamaica in the semi-final round and a win would put the USMNT in their third straight Nations League Final where they would have a chance to play either Mexico or Panama and win their third straight Concacaf Nations League trophy.
Some 90 days later the USMNT will be kicking off only their fifth appearance at the Copa America Tournament, with the stakes for this group at an all-time high and where success is demanded from the players, coaches, fans, and the federation. Will this current group of USMNT players and coaches be able to progress to the next level against the elite teams of CONMEBOL? It’s worth noting that the USMNT has finished fourth twice at Copa America in 1995 and 2016, however, the USMNT finished 32nd at the 1998 World Cup and failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The U-23 USMNT will also be playing the Olympics for the first time since 2008, which provides a great opportunity for those U-23 players to get noticed on a big stage. There are many eligible players who if released by their clubs will have a great opportunity to impress while helping the U-23 USMNT make a deep run at the 2024 Olympics in France.
As it becomes increasingly harder for the USMNT to schedule non-Concacaf opponents the US Soccer Federation will need to get creative in who and where they schedule these Friendly matches. The June window offers up the best opportunities for the USMNT to schedule matches against other CONMEBOL teams, preferably in Groups A and B which feature Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Edgar Moreno on X, formally Twitter, reported that the USMNT and Colombia have scheduled a Friendly headed into Copa America. It was also reported on Goal.com that Colombia will be scheduling a total of four matches leading into the tournament, two of which will be taking place in Europe. While there are challenges with timing and logistics around scheduling Friendlies with UEFA teams, USSF really needs to do everything possible to secure a similar type of schedule headed into Copa America but, rarely schedules USMNT Friendlies outside of the FIFA International window, which Colombia would need to do to make that schedule work.
It has been recently rumored that the USMNT might close to scheduling a Friendly with Colombia headed into Copa America. The September and October windows have few quality opponents available, at the time of the article it appears that the September window could be an opportunity to play schedule matches with teams from the CAF Confederation, but those matches would likely need to be played at neutral sites in Europe.
2024 USMNT Window
March
June Window
Copa America
September
October
November
CNL Finals March 18-26
Friendlies June 3-11
June 20-July 14
Friendlies Sept. 2-10
Friendlies Oct. 7-15
CNL quarterfinals Nov. 11-19
Below are eight years since the 1994 cycle that at the time were considered big years for the USMNT as they were playing in FIFA tournaments against teams from other confederations. Below is a look at how they fared.
1992
6 Wins, 4 Draws, 11 Losses, GF-21, GA-27
Third Place at the King Fahd Cup renamed Confederations Cup in 1997 edition.
First at U.S. Cup (Participating teams –Ireland, Italy & Portugal)
The USMNT is expected to once again advance to the Nations League Final and with their full fit A Squad should be able to bring home their third Nations League trophy, but the 2024 Copa America tournament is very possible the most important non-World Cup the USMNT has even competed it. How success and failure will be determined by the USSF and fans will be interesting to follow. Gregg Berhalter has to prove that he can put together a roster, a formation that allows for simple and effective tactics that will allow the USMNT to not only compete against some top-tier nations but beat them. Success for me isn’t just advancing to the semi-finals of Copa America The USMNT needs to perform at the next level against the top-tier nations, something that I’ve only seen a handful of times in my nearly 35 years as a USMNT fan.