'Ted Lasso' Star Jason Sudekis Meets Lionel Messi in Michelob Ultra's 2024 Super Bowl Commercial

Jason Sudekis may have hung up his whistle and mustache for good when Ted Lasso wrapped up its three season run last year. But in a nod to his beloved Apple TV+ series, the 48-year-old comedian is appearing in a new Michelob Ultra Super Bowl commercial alongside one of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi.

But because the spot will also air during the big NFL game, legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also makes an appearance to tie it all together; given that Messi likewise just made his Major League Soccer debut last summer playing for the Inter Miami soccer club.

In the minute-long spot, Messi strolls up to a beach bar and orders a Michelob Ultra on draft. But after his two friends are served tall cold ones, when it's Messi's turn the keg kicks. Instead of opting for a different brand of beer, the 36-year-old joins in a beach soccer game while he waits, breezing past a throng of impressed beachgoers, including Sudekis, who quips: "What do you mean, Leo? We go way back."

As the bartender goes to fetch a new keg, Messi then kicks the ball straight out into the ocean, where it lands on Marino's yacht. "Dan the man!" the blue-eyed Hall of Famer exclaims, before hurling the ball back to Messi on shore. "Come on, he's not even trying out there," quips Sudekis. Eventually, the bartender whistles him over with a fresh Ultra and the three friends toast.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ricardo Marques, Michelob Ultra VP of marketing, said that the commercial had been months in the making.

"In the back end of the year we brought this [idea] and we started gathering the talent and I can tell you that it was not as challenging or as difficult as you might think to bring these amazing names together," said Marques, "because we have a great story to tell, because we have a great brand in Michelob Ultra, we have a story that people connected with."

"Messi, Merino, and of course, Sudeikis, it was actually great to see them having a great time on set," he added. "I was there with it with a crew and it was everything that you see translated to camera, it was genuine emotions from enjoyment of being part of telling this great story."