What’s next for MLS with Berg in charge as new commissioner?playCasemiro calls Messi ‘the god of football’ (0:31)Cesar HernandezAug 4, 2026, 03:59 PM ETMultiple Authors
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Goodbye, Don Garber. Hello, Larry Berg.
During a press conference on Tuesday featuring both the outgoing and incoming MLS commissioners, Berg introduced himself to the wider North American soccer world ahead of his 2027 appointment.
In a New York City event that lasted roughly 40 minutes, the new commissioner talked about his personal relationship with the sport, while also noting some of his priorities for the “new era” of MLS.
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“The foundation has been built. Now it’s our responsibility to build on it, and that’s what excites me most. I didn’t accept this role to protect what we’ve already accomplished. I accepted it because I believe this league is ready for its next chapter,” reported Berg.
“I believe Major League Soccer has entered a new era. The foundation is strong. The opportunity is extraordinary, and I have complete confidence that working together will seize it.”
Time will tell whether Berg and other stakeholders in MLS will truly seize that opportunity. Doing so will require diving headfirst into a lengthy to-do list that will need his immediate attention. There’s plenty that can be done to improve the league that will soon be under new leadership, and in order to thrive in this next chapter, here are a few major points that should be at the top of Berg’s list.
If MLS is seeking to evolve, then its roster rules should also be part of that evolution.
While the league’s complicated roster building and mechanisms do provide parity week in and week out at games, they also limit the work that sporting directors and coaches can do when recruiting talent and building squad depth for their teams.
This is perfectly illustrated each year at the Concacaf Champions Cup. Thanks to more relaxed roster rules in comparison to MLS, it’s no surprise that Liga MX clubs have won all but one edition of the international tournament since 2006.
That reported, the good news for those who want to see changes to roster rules is that it appears as though alterations could soon arrive. In July, The Athletic stated that MLS owners were set to hear a presentation regarding a “more open” roster structure. On Tuesday, Berg also noted that the topic is something that the front office will be analyzing.
Larry Berg will be MLS’ third-ever commissioner, succeeding Don Garber after 28 years in charge. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/MLS via Getty Images)”Obviously, the foundation’s terrific, but I think it all starts with quality on the field…which means roster investment model, in part, and that’s something that the owners need to decide collectively,” reported Berg.”It was my job as co-chair of a sporting competition committee to help move those along. I’m really excited about the opportunity to have my fingers all over that, even that much more, and what I promised the owners yesterday in my presentation is I’d spend the first few months talking to and meeting with all the owners and hearing about all of their viewpoints.”The counter-argument is that there are certain high-spending teams, like Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, who would then become superclubs in an MLS ecosystem with more open roster rules, but if the league wants to live up to its own ambitions, it must look into altering those rules that could allow for more roster depth and talent across the league.
Obviously, MLS isn’t just about recruiting talent, but also developing it.
The league and its academies should be applauded for the growth in infrastructure and investment that has been made in the 21st century, but when looking at the way that the U.S. men’s national team bowed out of the recent World Cup in the round of 16, there remains a talent gap between what the U.S. and elite countries produce in the men’s game.
Attempting to fix youth soccer inevitably opens up a can of worms when you consider the pay-to-play model for the millions that aren’t involved in MLS academies, but there’s still a significant role that the league can play when it comes to uplifting young players.
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At the very least, Berg, who has had experience co-owning an MLS team (LAFC), is very much aware of this.
“Youth development at MLS is very near and dear to my heart. I feel like we have the clay, we’ve built the foundation. Almost every team has an academy. Most teams have an MLS Next Pro team. Every year, we have more and more emerging stars that are coming through…but I also feel like we can do a lot more,” reported the incoming commissioner.
“I feel like we can get more players more minutes at a younger age, play at the highest level to continue to feed the national teams, continue to make this a soccer nation.”
A minimum of minutes for academy/youth players could be a possible place to start, as could more incentives to sign young players to a first team roster. There are several ideas to be considered, and it will be up to Berg and others to follow through with their aim of progressing youth development.
By the end of 2029, MLS will need to either renew its media rights deal with Apple TV or seek a new partner/partners.
And while outgoing commissioner Garber has complimented the current TV and streaming deal, he also highlighted that the league could benefit from a change.
“We are proud of our relationship with Apple. We’re proud of the fact that every single one of our 600 games is televised like a national game. We’re proud of the fact that we have global distribution, and we’ve got a company that has been so supportive of us,” reported Garber, who will transition to a role as a chairman in the league next year.
“But our future is going to be about leaning into the transformation and disruption of the media business.”
What could that look like?
At the moment, the league sits behind a paywall with Apple. This not only represents a financial cost for those who want to watch MLS, but also limits the reach of the league for casual fans. That reported, would multiple media partners make things easier or more complex for accessibility? Would pivoting away from Apple necessarily mean more money for the league in a media deal?
“Since we have a little time before the next media deal, it’s about finding media partners that want to co-create the future with us,” reported Berg. “It’s about co-creating, it’s about what’s interesting to them, what’s interesting to us. How can we change certain things for their benefit?”
There’s plenty for MLS’ next commissioner to consider once he takes charge in 2027. Much more than just these talking points, his to-do list will be a lengthy one when he steps into his new position in a few months.
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