The Sports Advisors podcast is a biweekly roundtable discussion for decision-makers, hosted by their peers, on the stories that matter and their second-order effects. It is actionable intelligence from senior operators who have actually built, bought, sold, programmed, monetized, and scaled sports businesses.

In the latest episode, The Sports Advisors turn their attention to the 2026 World Cup. The event is serving as a stress test on the modern sports business model. The core four unpack pricing power, real estate optionality, and what MLS and its clubs can do to capitalize on the once-in-a-generation moment and become more culturally relevant.

The cast for the third episode in a row includes:

You can always connect with a member of the JohnWallStreet Advisory team by sending a note to [email protected]. 

Key insights and takeaways from the conversation:

The Tension Between Short-Term Yield and Long-Term Growth

FIFA is using dynamic pricing for the men’s World Cup for the first time, and the price of tickets has become one of the dominant pre-tournament business stories. The question is whether the organizing body’s focus on revenue maximization is souring the market long term.

“Dynamic pricing [has] been around forever, but you use dynamic pricing to optimize for a [single] night or a match. When you're doing brand building, you're optimizing for a decade. FIFA is choosing the night. It's very short-term thinking,” Shah said. The problem is “when your cheapest seat is $380 and the [U.S.] opener is at $4,000 you're not [just] pricing a match, you run the risk of pricing out the next generation of fans; and that's going to be one of the key things that [other rights owners should] really think about…What [does the cost] do [to fans] from an experience point of view and who [are you] targeting and who [you are] excluding, [because all of] that is going to have ramifications, especially when soccer is not a mature market in the U.S. yet.”

The Real Cost of Attendance

Transit and parking costs/logistics have also drawn fan backlash in cities across the country. The World Cup was always going to play in established NFL stadiums. But the controversy has spawned a broader venue-development debate. Should rights owners evaluating future district projects think a bit less about real estate optionality and more about the total cost of attendance, including considerations like time, friction, and whether the trip is easy enough for fans to make it a habit?

“The research we did at Fox and afterwards when I was [at] InVivo and elsewhere [indicates] that the brand experience begins when you leave the house. [In fact,] it probably starts when you purchase your tickets,” Crakes said. “And understanding each touch point and the friction you create, from how long it takes to get in and out of the parking lot to what the food costs at the stadium, are all things that [rights owners] need to rethink [in] the whole revenue versus brand experience [consideration].”

The Cultural Relevance Test

This summer’s tournament is going to generate record revenue and TV ratings. But neither is the KPI that will dictate whether the event was a true success.

“[Judge the ‘26 WC on] whether there becomes a [cultural] movement from this. And you can't judge that within a month after the event is over. [It takes time…But] does soccer take that next step forward,” Brody asked? “Because right now in America, [MLS] is not a leading sport. It is a second-tier sport. How does it become a tier one [property]? That's what the hope is coming out of the World Cup. Ultimately, we'll find out based on the voting of [the American] people with where they spend their time and money [in the] future.”

Turning WC Fervor into MLS Demand

MLS is almost assured of seeing a post-World Cup bump. But fully capitalizing on the opportunity will require the league to understand what it is selling to fans.

“The biggest piece is [being prepared] to take the momentum you have coming out of mid-July, and the fervor around actual global soccer, and you [have to] highlight a lot of the players in the league who participated in the World Cup; [market that] you can continue to see them play here in the U.S. That has to be a heavy push,” Kelly said. “As uncomfortable as it is, it [should be] less about teams at that point [and] more about the sport. It's more about the players ...There's [Messi and] other players in the league that are playing in the World Cup where they should be able to highlight [those individuals and] carry on that fandom for at least [the last] four months [of the season]...[MLS is] going to see an inherent lift on the back half of the season [either way], just because [fans who] may have been priced out of World Cup games can go watch [a league game in] Dallas for 30 bucks.”

📺Watch the full episode on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page.
🎧 Listen or watch on Spotify.

Catch previous episodes of The Sports Advisors, including the debut on the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s decision to stop funding LIV Golf at the conclusion of the 2026 season and our second episode on rumblings Vancouver Whitecaps FC could be relocating to Las Vegas, on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube Channel.

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The next episode will be released on Wednesday, June 17.