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NEW YORK — Incoming Major League Soccer commissioner Larry Berg says he’s ready to make a big splash.
MLS formally unveiled Berg, a private equity executive and co-owner of LAFC, at a press conference in Manhattan on Tuesday. The league first announced Berg as Don Garber’s successor on Monday, after team owners met to vote between Berg and former Fox executive David Nathanson.
Here are six things we learned from Berg’s opening comments and an interview with Front Office Sports afterward.
1. He sees future broadcast deal as “uncapped upside”
MLS’s current media deal with Apple ends in 2029, and the next set of broadcast negotiations are shaping up to be one of the defining moments of Berg’s tenure.
When asked by FOS during Tuesday’s press conference what his biggest priorities are heading into those conversations, Berg initially deferred to Garber. The outgoing commissioner said the league is proud of its relationship with Apple, but he said the future is about “leaning in to the transformation and disruption of the media business.”
Berg told reporters the next deal is about “finding media partners that want to co-create the future with us.” He said he’s excited to explain MLS properties like League Cup and the new spring playoff format to media partners who may be unaware, and said he’s going to establish relationships and continue engaging with media partners ahead of formal negotiations that will happen roughly 12 to 18 months from now.
In his interview with FOS, Berg said the league has “uncapped upside” when it comes to a new media deal, and the current pace of broadcast revenue “inspires us to correct that.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a ‘gaping hole,’” Berg said—referring to a term used by NYCFC CEO Brad Sims in a recent interview—“but I do think it’s an opportunity for growth and it’s something that’s important to us and something we certainly plan to improve over time.”
2. He doesn’t support promotion and relegation for MLS
Berg, who has stakes in several European clubs, said in the press conference that he doesn’t think promotion and relegation would be “appropriate” for MLS.
“I can understand the appeal as a fan,” Berg said. “I don’t think it’s a great way to build a league.”
Berg said he learned from Garber to “never say never,” but he said he doesn’t see it happening anytime soon for MLS.
3. Owners selected him unanimously—kind of
Columbus Crew owner Jimmy Haslam, who led the succession committee of owners for the next commissioner alongside LAFC owner Bennett Rosenthal, said at the press conference that the 30 MLS owners unanimously voted for Berg on Monday.
Berg needed a two-thirds majority, or 20 owners, to get the job. Multiple rounds of voting were required to reach that point, according to Sports Business Journal.
4. He isn’t shy about his PE background
Berg spent most of his career at the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and has also spent the past few years at 26North. Both firms were founded by Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris.
“Larry will be a great commissioner of MLS and is the right person to help the league coming off the momentum of the World Cup,” Harris said in a statement to FOS.
Berg told FOS he sees “a lot of parallels” between private equity and sports leadership, and thinks his business experience is an advantage as a soccer executive, both at LAFC and as the future commissioner.
Berg said there is “clearly a role” for private equity in sports, and he said KKR—which announced a deal with MLS Next Pro in April—has made an “enormous amount of progress in a very short time.”
“I happen to think that institutional capital entering the sports world is very interesting and creates a lot of opportunity,” Berg said, “but for me, I don’t know that that is a big factor with respect to MLS.”
MLS allows private equity funds worth at least $500 million to take stakes as large as 20% in up to four MLS clubs. A team cannot be more than 30% PE-owned. A little more than half of the league has private equity ties, according to Pitchbook.
5. The talent pool is a high priority
When asked by FOS if MLS’s current salary cap structure—where teams are capped at $6.4 million in player salaries but can go over the cap for up to three Designated Players—is working, Berg said one needs to define “working.” He said MLS has been tweaking its “roster investment model” for years and will continue to do so.
“I was pushing as co-chair of [MLS’s] project strategy [committee] and I had my own views about young players and youth development and should there be incentives for different types of players to either come into the league and play,” Berg said. “That’s something we talk about on a regular basis, and that frankly is going to be my highest priority over the next year as we head into the big summer season with the new calendar, and then ultimately a new media deal at some point in the future.”
While Berg said he wants Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi to stay in MLS as long as possible, he said the league has “a constant conveyor belt of stars coming in” and shows up well on the transfer market.
“People that are paying the most money for players covet our players,” he said.
6. He won’t take over right away
Berg in the press conference praised the success MLS has had under Garber’s tenure, saying the “foundation has been built,” but reiterated that the “status quo is not an option.”
“I didn’t accept this role to protect what we’ve already accomplished,” Berg said Tuesday. “I accepted it because I believe this league is ready for its next chapter.”
Garber, the league’s second commissioner, has led MLS since 1999. He will move on to a new role as “Chairman,” the league said in an announcement. Garber said on Tuesday that he will hold that role “through 2027.”
Berg, 60, will join the league on Sept. 1, but he will not take over the commissioner title from Garber until Jan. 1, shortly before MLS begins its “sprint” season in February. The abbreviated season will run through May, before MLS flips to the fall-to-spring calendar in July.
