There were 552 days on the World Cup clock when MLS Commissioner Don Garber took to a lectern last Friday and spoke, once again, of an “incredible opportunity.” He summarized the state of the league and recounted a “superb” 29th season. But as always, the questions he faced were forward-looking. How, one asked, does MLS plan to capitalize on “opportunities”? As the 2026 World Cup approaches, what exactly is the league doing to maximize its impact? How will it attract new fans and attract more subscribers to its Apple TV streaming service, which many say limits its reach beyond core supporters?
Garber talked about collecting and “mining” consumer data.
He cited Apple’s global reach, “high-tech” broadcasts and “interactivity.”
He has been mulling adjustments – or even a radical change – to the league’s “competitive format.”
He touched on storytelling, sponsorship growth, digital engagement and a bunch of other buzzwords… but not so much the one that, in theory, should be at the heart of any football league’s plan: football players.
When asked if he and the MLS owners planned to make any significant changes to the spending rules, Garber concluded: “I don’t foresee anything significant happening in the next couple of years.”
And throughout a 40-minute press conference, he adopted a less ambitious tone than during the Lionel Messi era.
Messi’s arrival has amplified an ongoing debate in and around MLS about the league’s trajectory — and the investments needed to accelerate it. With Messi here; with the 2024 Copa América, the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup to come; and with the MLS more stable than ever, many have wondered: Perhaps now is the time to ease roster restrictions, raise the salary cap, and release ambitious owners in an effort to elevate the quality on the field of the league?
“We’re going to have the eyes of the world on us,” Garber said during last year’s “State of the League” address. “And the soccer market here in the United States is going to be exposed to the entire global soccer and soccer community. And that’s the pressure we’re under: with everyone paying attention to us, what product can we deliver? »
He even set a deadline: “being the league we want to be in 2027.”
He reiterated that the “goal” was “to be one of the best football leagues in the world, to be part of a global conversation.”
Its most important business partner, Apple’s Eddy Cue, went further last November: “People think it’s crazy, but (given America’s size and economic power) why wouldn’t we have the best soccer league in the world?”
And in February, Cue, who is overseeing Apple’s 10-year, $2.5 billion rights deal with MLS, proposed a brutal roadmap to a noble goal: “When someone asks: ‘What do I expect from (MLS) teams, I answer: ‘Sign even more players!'”
At that point, the doors seemed ajar. Also in February, when asked why roster rules had remained static through 2024, MLS executive vice president of player strategy Todd Durbin said the league had actually avoided minor changes because she didn’t want to “get stuck or pigeonholed” just in case. they “wanted to make more radical changes or do a bigger overhaul of the system.” For months, he and the league office, in tandem with the owner sports and competitions commissionstudied the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
What they apparently found, however, was the three “substantial” but progressive changes announced in July.
They granted clubs more flexibility in building squads and the possibility of forming smaller teams. They allowed some teams to add additional young players at discounted rates. They allowed clubs to turn around and spend more of their revenue selling players abroad.
But they didn’t sweep the system of obscure transactions and spending limits this slowed MLS’s rise to the “best soccer leagues in the world.” They didn’t do it Really put Inter Miami or LAFC a lot closer to Tottenham Hotspur or Porto or Palmeiras – or even Monterrey.
And Garber indicated Friday that they probably won’t. “Discussions are underway; I wouldn’t put it in the large spending category,” he said when asked about potential changes to spending rules. “MLS is constantly, every year, looking for ways to encourage our teams to better utilize their resources, to be very, very productive and efficient.”
This is of course the main reason for the maze of rules. They mitigate costly mistakes in the transfer market and guide club executives toward the types of players that the league, collectively, has recognized as profitable investments.
They also control costs. And some owners, Garber seemed to imply, remain concerned that the millions of dollars they invest in their clubs – in salaries and transfer fees, but also in youth academies, a reserve leagueinstallations and more – will not produce returns.
On the subject of academies, Garber said on Friday: “We have to justify what is over $100 million a year in (league-wide) investment under the first team.”
Regarding the market value of MLS teams, he said: “It’s something, over time, that I hope we can see continue to grow, as our teams invest more in players and hopefully, generate more revenue to justify this expense. »
It appears, however, that they are not prepared to spend enough to reach the upper echelons of the sport any time soon. There was no talk on Friday of being “one of the best football leagues in the world”. When asked if MLS teams were equipped to compete with their elite European counterparts, as Seattle and Miami will attempt to do in this summer’s Club World Cup, Garber acknowledged they were valued in the “lower quadrant” of the 32 teams. He then gave the cautious answer above, about revenue justifying expenses, and concluded: “We are working on ways to provide every team with the opportunity to be more competitive.” We will talk about it a little more during our next board meeting (Thursday in New York).
And in doing so, the clocks will tick towards 2025; and check, towards the end of Messi’s contract; and check, circa 2026, with most MLS games being little seen behind an Apple paywall.
And it seems more likely than ever that once they all hit zero, MLS will continue to grow slowly and methodically. It will be better, slightly, but not noticeably different, than it was when this “incredible opportunity” first presented itself.
