Lionel Messi Draws Bigger Crowds Than Super Bowl, What Are Inter Miami's Attendance Totals?

More than two decades into his professional career and three years since his arrival in MLS haven't dampened audience enthusiasm for Lionel Messi.

Inter Miami has drawn the two highest attendance figures at a sporting event in the United States so far in 2026, beating out Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

The Inter Miami-Los Angeles FC match that drew 75,673 fans to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was the 2026 MLS season opener for both clubs on Feb. 21. The DC United matchup took place on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.

Messi scored the 899th goal of his legendary career in Inter Miami's 2-1 victory over DC.

Super Bowl was initially set up for a max capacity of around 67,000 people before it got up to 70,823 on gameday.

It's safe to assume the NFL made a lot more money on the Super Bowl than the MLS did for regular-season games featuring Messi. The cheapest get-in price for the game was around $5,000.

On the other hand, the MLS games are more fan-friendly in terms of how much it costs to get into a game.

Regardless of the difference in finances, it says a lot about Messi's star power that he remains an incredible drawing card this deep into his career.

During the 2024 MLS season, Messi's first full year with Inter Miami, league attendance record with more than 11 million total fans and an average of 23,234 fans per game.

Last year saw Messi lead Inter Miami to its first MLS Cup title in franchise history.

Saturday's attendance figure for Miami-DC came after Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas commented earlier in the week that Messi earns between $70-80 million per year from the club and is "worth every penny" of his deal.

There will be plenty of other opportunities for Messi to bring in massive crowds. Inter Miami's schedule includes multiple games at NFL stadiums, including Bank of America Stadium (March 14) and Empower Field at Mile High (April 18).