There were 552 days on the World Cup clock when MLS Commissioner Don Garber stepped into a lectern last Friday and once again talked about an “incredible opportunity.” He was summarizing the state of the league, and talking about a “fantastic” 29th season. But, as always, the questions he faced were forward-looking. Someone asked, is MLS planning to capitalize on the “opportunity”? With the 2026 World Cup around the corner, what exactly is the league doing to maximize impact? How will it attract new fans, and more subscribers to its Apple TV streaming service, which many believe is seeing its reach limited beyond core supporters?
Garber talked about collecting consumer data and “skewing” it.
He noted Apple’s global reach, “high technology” broadcasting, and “interactivity”.
He thought about a change – or even a major change – in the “competitive format” of the league.
He touched on storytelling, sponsorship development, digital engagement and a bunch of other discussions… but not so much on that, which, in theory, should be central to any soccer league’s plan: football player,
Asked whether he and the MLS owners planned to make significant changes to spending rules, Garber concluded: “I don’t expect anything significant to happen in the next few years.”
And during the 40-minute press conference, he spoke in a less ambitious tone than during the Lionel Messi era.
Messi’s arrival heightened the ongoing debate in and around MLS about the league’s trajectory and the investment needed to accelerate it. Here with Messi; With the 2024 Copa America, 2025 Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup coming up; And with MLS more stable than ever, many wondered: Is now the time to loosen roster restrictions, raise the salary cap and free up ambitious owners in an effort to raise the league’s on-field quality Is?
“The eyes of the world will be on us,” Garber said in 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 football and soccer community. And that’s the pressure we’re under: Since everyone is paying attention to us, what’s the product that we can deliver?”
He also set a deadline – “We want to be a league in 2027.”
He reiterated that the “goal” was “to become one of the top football leagues in the world, to be part of the global conversation”.
His most important business partner, Apple’s Eddie Cue, went one step further last November: “People think it’s crazy, but [given the size and economic power of America,] “Why wouldn’t we have the best football league in the world?”
And in February, Cue, who oversees Apple’s 10-year, $2.5 billion rights deal with MLS, offered a blunt roadmap To aim high: “When someone asks, ‘What do I want? [MLS] ‘Teams,’ I say, ‘sign some more players!'”
At that time, the doors seemed to be half open. Also in February, when pressed on why roster rules remained stable in 2024, MLS executive vice president of player strategy Todd Durbin said that the league had actually left the minor changes in place because they were “owning Didn’t want to sideline, or betray myself. They “wanted to make more sweeping changes, or make more significant changes to the system.” For months, he and the league office, along with the owner, led Sports and Competition CommitteeStudied the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.
However, what they clearly came up with Three “substantial” but incremental changes were announced in July,
They provided clubs with greater flexibility in roster construction and the ability to create squads with less top-load. They allowed some teams to add additional young players at discount rates. They allowed clubs to spend more of their income on selling players abroad.
but they didn’t take it apart System of mysterious transactions and spending limits This has slowed MLS’s progress toward becoming “the world’s top soccer league.” they didn’t In fact Get Inter Miami or LAFC very close to Tottenham Hotspur or Porto or Palmeiras – or even Monterrey.
And Garber indicated Friday that they probably won’t. “There are discussions going on; “I wouldn’t rank it as significant,” he said when asked about possible changes to spending rules. “MLS is constantly, every year, looking at ways we can help our teams use their resources better. use, make them much more productive and efficient.”
Undoubtedly, this is the main reason for the maze of rules. They reduce costly mistakes in the transfer market, and guide club executives as to the types of players that the league has collectively agreed are worthwhile investments.
They also control costs. And some owners, Garber indicated, remain concerned that the millions of dollars they spend on their clubs – in salaries and transfer fees, but also in youth academies, a reserve leagueFeatures and more – Will not return.
On the subject of academies, Garber said Friday: “We need to justify that by contributing over $100 million a year.” [league-wide] investment below first[-team] Rooster.”
On the market value of MLS squads, he said: “It’s something that, over time, I hope to see increase as our teams invest more in players, and hopefully that spending is justified. More revenue will be generated to accommodate this. ,
However, it seems they are not prepared to spend anywhere near reaching the upper echelons of the game any time soon. There was no discussion on Friday about it being “one of the top football leagues in the world”. Asked whether MLS teams were equipped to compete with elite European counterparts, as Seattle and Miami will try to do at the Club World Cup this summer, Garber acknowledged that they were placed at the “bottom” of the 32-team field. Importance was given in “Quadrantha”. He then gave a careful answer to the above, in which the revenues justified the expenses, and concluded: “We are working on ways that we can give each team some opportunities to be more competitive. We’ll talk a little about this at our next board meeting [Thursday in New York],
And as they do, the clocks will be ticking, toward 2025; And as the clock ticks towards the end of Messi’s contract; And look forward to 2026, most MLS games will be rarely watched behind the Apple paywall.
And it’s more likely than ever that, once they all hit zero, MLS will still be growing slowly, organically. It will be a little better, but not much different than when this “incredible opportunity” first appeared.