There were 552 days on the World Cup clock when MLS commissioner Don Garber stepped to a lectern last Friday and once again spoke of “incredible opportunities.” He summarized the state of the league and talked about a “great” 29th season. But as always, the questions he faced were forward-looking. How, one wondered, does the MLS plan to capitalize on “opportunities”? With the 2026 World Cup approaching, 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 believe limits its reach beyond its core following?
Garber talked about collecting and “leveraging” consumer data.
He cited Apple’s global reach, “high-tech” broadcasting and “interactivity.”
He mused about adjustments – or even a major change – to the league’s “competitive format.”
He touched on storytelling, sponsorship growth, digital engagement and a whole host of other buzzwords… but not so much on the word that should, in theory, be central to every football league’s plan: football players.
Asked whether he and the MLS owners plan to make any significant changes to the spending rules, Garber concluded: “I don’t expect anything major to happen in the next few years.”
And during a 40-minute press conference, he struck a less ambitious tone than previously in the Lionel Messi era.
Messi’s arrival reinforced an ongoing debate within and around MLS about the league’s trajectory – and the investments needed to accelerate it. With Messi here; with the 2024 Copa America, the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon; and with MLS more stable than ever before, many wondered: could now be the time to loosen roster restrictions, raise the salary cap and unleash ambitious owners in an effort to improve the quality of competition on the field improve?
“The eyes of the world will be on us,” Garber said during last year’s State of the League address. “And the soccer market here in the United States will become visible to the entire global soccer community. And that is the pressure we are under: while everyone is paying attention to us, what is the product that we can deliver?”
He even set a deadline: “to be the league we want to be in 2027.”
He reiterated that the “goal” was to “become one of the best football leagues in the world, to be part of a global conversation.”
His most important business partner, Eddy Cue of Apple, went one step further last November: “People think it’s crazy, but [given the size and economic power of America,] Why shouldn’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 the lofty goal: “When someone asks, ‘What do I want from [MLS] teams,’ I’m like, ‘Get some more players!’”
At that moment the doors seemed to be slightly ajar. Also in February, when asked why roster rules remained static in 2024, MLS Executive Vice President of Player Strategy Todd Durbin said the league had actually eschewed minor changes because they “didn’t want to corner ourselves or put ourselves in a box’, in case they ‘wanted to make more drastic changes, or undertake a more significant overhaul of the system.’ For months, he and the league office, along with the owner-led sports and competition committee, studied the pros and cons of doing just that.
What they apparently came up with, however, were the three ‘substantial’ but incremental changes announced in July.
They gave clubs more flexibility in squad composition and the ability to create squads that were less top-heavy. They allowed some teams to add additional young players at discounted rates. They allowed clubs to turn around and spend a greater share of the revenue they earned on selling players abroad.
But they haven’t cast aside the system of arcane transactions and spending limits that has slowed the rise of MLS toward the “world’s top soccer leagues.” They didn’t Real bring Inter Miami or LAFC much closer 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 put it in the significant category,” he said when asked about possible changes to spending rules. “Every year, MLS is constantly looking for ways we can empower our teams to better use their resources, to be highly productive and efficient.”
That is of course the main reason for the maze of rules. They mitigate costly mistakes in the transfer market and guide club executives to the kind of players the league has collectively agreed are worthwhile investments.
They also control costs. And some owners, Garber seemed to hint, remain concerned that the millions of dollars they are pouring into their clubs – in wages and transfer fees, as well as youth academies, a reserve league, facilities and more – will not yield returns.
About academies, Garber said Friday: “We have to justify what has been well over $100 million a year in recent years. [league-wide] investment under the former[-team] selection.”
On the market value of MLS teams, he said: “That’s something that I hope will continue to grow over time as our teams invest more in players and hopefully generate more revenue to justify those costs. ”
However, it seems like they aren’t willing to spend enough money to reach the upper echelons of the sport anytime soon. There was no talk of being ‘one of the best football leagues in the world’ on Friday. When asked if the MLS teams are equipped to compete with Europe’s elite, as Seattle and Miami will try to do at the Club World Cup this summer, Garber acknowledged that they were rated in the “lower quadrant” of the field. 32 teams. He then gave the careful answer above, with the revenue justifying the expenses, and concluded: “We are working on ways we can give every team the opportunity to be more competitive. We will discuss this more at our next board meeting [Thursday in New York].”
And as they do, the clocks will be ticking towards 2025; and tap, towards the end of Messi’s contract; And by 2026, most MLS games will be sparsely viewed behind an Apple paywall.
And it seems more likely than ever that once they all hit zero, the MLS will still grow slowly and methodically. It will be marginally better, but not noticeably different than when this “incredible opportunity” first presented itself.
