MLS Begins Season With More Messi Mania, Apple Streaming Changes

The 2025 Major League Soccer season begins this weekend as every club will take the field, culminating Sunday night with the debut of San Diego FC, the league’s 30th franchise. 

From expansion and another year with Lionel Messi to the third season of Apple’s $2.5 billion streaming deal, MLS has plenty happening on and off the pitch.

Messi Mania Continues

Messi and Inter Miami were supposed to kick off Saturday’s 13-match slate, but their match against New York City FC was moved from 2:30 p.m. ET to 7:30 p.m. following the one-day postponement of Miami’s Concacaf Champions Cup contest against Sporting Kansas City from Tuesday to Wednesday, due to extremely cold weather.

Like last season, Miami enters the year as the betting favorites to win the MLS Cup, despite its first-round exit from the playoffs last fall. Messi, 37, remains the league’s biggest star and is expected to once again drive huge crowds both in South Florida and especially on the road against teams that play in NFL stadiums with larger capacities. 

Inter Miami is planning to open its 25,000-seat stadium, Miami Freedom Park, in 2026.

Apple’s Soccer Strategy

The majority of MLS matches will once again be exclusively streaming on Apple TV, with select games simulcast by Fox Sports throughout the year.

Specific subscriber numbers have not been released for MLS Season Pass, which costs $14.99 per month or $99 for the full season. In an interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber ahead of the season, Front Office Sports asked why the league and Apple don’t release those figures. “I would,” Garber said. “Apple doesn’t.”

This season, measures have been taken to increase the service’s reach. Comcast Xfinity and DirecTV customers can now subscribe to MLS Season Pass and watch matches directly through their providers, instead of using the Apple TV app.

Momentum was building around Messi last year heading into the postseason, and Inter Miami’s opening match against Atlanta United was the most widely viewed sporting event ever presented by Apple, the company said. But Miami’s upset exit after that likely hampered further growth. 

More the Merrier?

While reaching 30 franchises is a landmark moment for MLS, further expansion is likely still on the way. 

Las Vegas, Sacramento, and Phoenix are widely believed to be the front-runners to land a team that would require a pricey expansion fee—San Diego paid $500 million when it was awarded a spot in MLS in 2023.