MLS Commissioner Don Garber was predictably effusive in his praise for the league’s soon-to-be completed season but not as clear on what may be next with regard to how it will take advantage of having Lionel Messi through at least 2025 and in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup.
Garber did say that the league will not add a fourth Designated Player but hinted that there will be some “exciting things” that will be voted on during next week’s owners meeting in New York.
Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup, joined MLS and Miami in the summer. He is under contract through 2025. His arrival and the attention he brought to the league resulted in many who follow the league speculating if there would be roster rules changes in the coming years to make it easier for clubs to sign more world-class players.
“I wouldn’t say that the market is about the timing when Leo Messi leaves the league,” Garber said. “It’s really what do we want to be by 2027. We’re going to have the eyes of the world on us, and the soccer market here in the United States is going to be exposed to the entire global soccer and football community. And that is the pressure that we’re under to ensure as everybody’s paying attention to us. What is the product that we can deliver?”
Garber spoke on Messi and many topics in the annual “state of the league” address ahead of Saturday’s MLS Cup match between LAFC and Columbus in Ohio.
Garber said the league’s various roster-acquisition mechanisms, he described them as “segment spending,” were put into place as strategic initiatives to help franchises field better teams.
“A time may come where we no longer need to segment spending, not to provide more financial freedom but because our strategic initiatives will have been achieved,” he said.
Having Messi certainly helped in one area: streaming. Garber said Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a recent earnings call that league “overdelivered” in the first season of its $2.5 billion, 10-year streaming partnership. There haven’t been many metrics provided by either the league or Apple regarding subscriptions or viewership.
Because this is a first-of-its-kind partnership and is streaming to more than 100 countries around the world, Garber said it’s too soon to discuss numbers.
Garber said MLS and Apple are focused on the amount of subscriptions, the amount of time people are spending on the broadcasts and the demographics of the audience.
“This is a long-term partnership; we will get there in the right time,” he said.
Another topic of many questions was the league’s long and congested schedule and what changes may happen. This season, in addition to competing in 34 league games, teams also competed in the inaugural Leagues Cup, which was at least two more matches; the U.S. Open Cup, at least one more match; and some in the Champions League, which was at least two more matches. Atlanta United played 40 matches. Some teams played almost 50 matches.
Garber pushed back on the premise of the question, saying the length of the schedule is decided in part by FIFA and its schedule. The MLS schedule took at least three partial breaks during its season for international play. The league also took a month off for the Leagues Cup. The schedules of matches for teams started in March.
“It’s a complicated, challenging issue,” he said. “Not every team is affected the same way. Some teams aren’t playing enough. Some, in the view of coaches, are playing too many. The league has been able to evolve through all of the changes that come to us. We will adapt and figure out the right way to change, whether it’s roster changes, or participating in some tournaments and not others.”
Complicating next year’s schedule will be the Copa America and the second edition of the Leagues Cup. The World Cup in 2026 will add another layer. The league can’t afford to shut down for long periods, Garber said.
“This is the largest soccer league in the world, by far, playing in the largest soccer market, by far,” he said. “All of that needs to be processed to understand how complicated all of this is.”
In addition to praising the Leagues Cup, a first-of-its-kind tournament that pitted every team from MLS against every team from LIGA MX, Garber said they may tweak the format of next year’s event. It is expected to be played after Copa America, which will start in Atlanta on June 20 and end in Miami on July 14.
Another new element this season was a best-of-three series in the first round of the playoffs. The subsequent rounds, including Saturday’s championship, were one-off matches. Garber said he loved the format. There were more home games, attendance and ratings increased.
“We thought it was a great success,” he said.
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