The annual list of most valuable MLS clubs created by Forbes dropped last week, and the headlines felt familiar. Lionel Messi and the Mas brothers have made Inter Miami MLS’s most valuable franchise at $1.35 billion. There are two new MLS clubs in the $1 billion valuation tier: Atlanta United and New York City FC. The average MLS club has increased in value from $690 million to $730 million over the course of a year.
But underneath the shining headlines of growth, the valuations point to something many MLS fans may already be feeling – a weakening of parity that’s been the staple of the league, underpinned by a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots.
Let’s explore this weakening parity, what it says about the challenges facing MLS, and where the league should look to for growth.
The revenue gap between the top and bottom MLS club is now wider than any other U.S. sports league
MLS’s top team in revenue is, unsurprisingly, Inter Miami, which Forbes estimated at $200 million in 2025. Their growth in revenue was boosted by the club’s FIFA Club World Cup earnings and its preseason tours. MLS’s lowest earner was the Vancouver Whitecaps, Inter Miami’s opponents in last season’s MLS Cup, who were estimated to have only $46 million in revenue.
