Inter Miami has played well in 2026, with the second-best point total in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. Yet as Lionel Messi’s club prepares to restart its season Wednesday after the conclusion of the World Cup, the Herons’ performance off the pitch might be even better.
Since January, Inter Miami has signed 13 sponsorship deals, inclusive of new partners, renewals and extensions. The club is adding No. 14 to the fold Wednesday, announcing a long-term pact with Marriott Bonvoy, the rewards platform of the namesake global hotel chain. The length and the financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
The arrangement marks Marriott Bonvoy’s first foray with an MLS club and adds to its overall presence in global soccer, which includes deals with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and U.S. Soccer. It will become Inter Miami’s official partner in the hotel and hotel loyalty program categories, with a VIP entrance, prominent branding at the club’s home venue, Nu Stadium, and the ability for Marriott Bonvoy members to use rewards points on club experiences like hospitality suites and pre-match access.
Marriott Bonvoy will also become a founding partner of Miami Freedom Park, the $1 billion mixed-used development where Inter Miami’s stadium is located. It joins Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Baptist Health and Modelo in occupying that role at the 131-acre commercial site. Nu Bank, Royal Caribbean, Lowe’s and Florida Blue are listed on the project’s website as main partners.
The deal continues the commercial renaissance Inter Miami has experienced since 2023, when Messi signed with the South Florida-based franchise. His arrival transformed a middling club into a financial powerhouse, boosting ticket sales, creating new business opportunities such as lucrative global tours and supercharging its sponsorship portfolio.
Thanks to the “Messi effect,” the Herons more than quadrupled their local revenues from $55 million in 2022 to $215 million in 2025, pushing the team to the top of MLS’ valuation table with an enterprise value of $1.45 billion. Inter Miami generates more sponsorship revenues than the bottom five clubs in the league combined. Its average partnership is more than triple the mean of all deals across the league’s 29 other clubs, according to research firm Sponsor United.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami has improved on the field, winning Leagues Cup in 2023, the Supporters’ Shield in 2024 and MLS Cup in 2025.
That financial run isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The club is marching toward local revenues of $250 million, having added or re-upped deals with Adidas, Lowe’s, Publix, Modelo, Audi, Ergo Next Insurance and IM8, the last of which was announced alongside an investment in the supplement brand’s parent company. Sponsor United expects Inter Miami to rank No. 1 in sponsorship revenues for the third consecutive year.
In April, the club opened the 26,700-seat Nu Stadium, giving it a permanent home and more control over its commercial destiny after six seasons at a temporary venue called Chase Stadium at the end of its tenure.
Messi’s future appears to secure, too. The Argentine star, who at 39 appears to still be at the top of his game after scoring eight goals at the World Cup and leading his country to the final, signed a contract extension last year that keeps him tied to the club through the end of the 2028 season.
Inter Miami resumes its MLS schedule on Wednesday when it hosts the Chicago Fire at Nu Stadium—though without Messi, who will take a period of post-World Cup rest before rejoining his domestic club.