Money

Back in 2010, MLS signed an eight-year deal with Adidas worth $200 million. It was seen as a watershed moment for the league, signed just years after an eight-year contract with ESPN.

In 2014, the broadcast deal for MLS changed dramatically when ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision signed new agreements totaling around $90 million per-season, five times more than the previous deal.

Meet Amine Harit, a French U-20 attacking midfielder who just arrived at Schalke 04 via Nantes for $9.5 million. He's not a global sponsor for Nike, Gillette, Panasonic or Beats by Dre, he's never had his own custom Air Jordan sneakers or been featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer, but he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in world football today.

This morning Barcelona announced that Neymar had announced to them his intention to leave the club, presumably for Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona also announced that they informed Neymar his release clause, a cool 263.2 million, would still have to be met.

PSG have yet to actually meet this release clause, which would terminate Neymar's contract with Barcelona and allow him to sign a new one with PSG, but they certainly have the means. Messi has already said goodbye.

Cue a thousand corny jokes about swiping right on transfers and Manchester United fans finally getting a decent match: Tinder has reportedly offered a deal to become Manchester United’s sleeve sponsor. 

The United States is used to being the best at everything, from income to athletics. When it comes to the economy of sports, there are two areas where America lags far behind its overseas counterparts: soccer and eSports.

In soccer, European leagues attract the biggest stars with the biggest salaries. In eSports, South Korean and Chinese players earn more per capita than those in the U.S. and are treated like rock stars.

This begs the question: Who is better paid, players in Major League Soccer or eSports? The answer isn’t quite clear cut.

Everton forward Wayne Rooney has long been one of the highest-paid players in world football, with a combination of Manchester United wages and many endorsements swelling his bank accounts considerably. Wayne Rooney's net worth has put him on lists of the richest footballers for many years.

If social media has done one thing for us, it’s certainly improved our one-way communication with the world’s biggest stars. Big names like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are some of the most followed personalities online because when they do share with us, we like it. We like getting to know them personally. 

What’s going on in their lives? Just like watching our neighbor across the street, we can now peer in on the lifestyles of the rich and the famous. 

Last campaign, Roma set a club record in Serie A for most points in a season. They had never reached 87 points before, even when winning the Scudetto. So, obviously, the summer has consisted of parting ways with the manager, the sporting director, the legendary club captain, their most productive attacker and at least one of their coveted center backs. Of course, looking at the departures on an individual basis, they sort of make sense. But it’s still a weird summer for Roma.

The likes of Arsenal, Everton, Leicester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham all saw the majority of their players return to the training ground for the start of preseason today. Many other sides, like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, will also begin their preparations this week.