Larry Berg is taking over Major League Soccer. The LAFC co-owner and former Apollo Global Management senior partner will succeed Don Garber as commissioner, with Garber staying on in an emeritus role through the end of 2027.
Berg will have to sell his stake in Los Angeles Football Club before stepping into the role — which is standard practice, but it's still worth flagging just how different his vantage point has been. He's been an owner making business decisions on one side of the table. Now he'll be running the whole league.
Garber's shadow is long
Don Garber took the commissioner's chair in 1999, when MLS was genuinely fighting for survival. Twenty-six years later, the league has seven clubs in the top 30 most valuable football franchises on the planet, with Inter Miami sitting at $1.6 billion. That transformation — from startup curiosity to legitimate global sports property — is Garber's legacy, and Berg inherits both its momentum and its complexity.
Because the honeymoon won't last long. Berg has two landmines waiting on his desk from day one.
- Collective bargaining: The current agreement with MLS players expires at the end of January 2028. Labor negotiations in American sports rarely go smoothly, and a league still building credibility with elite players can't afford the optics of a drawn-out fight.
- Media rights: The Apple TV deal runs through the 2028-29 season. What comes next will define MLS's financial ceiling for the following decade. The league's valuation trajectory — and by extension the odds on further expansion and marquee signings — hinges on getting this right.
Berg's background in private equity means he understands deal-making at scale. Whether that translates into navigating player unions and broadcast negotiations in a sport with global politics baked in is the real question.
What it means for the league's competitive picture
For now, the day-to-day doesn't shift. Garber's emeritus presence through 2027 provides continuity. But any bets on MLS expansion, franchise valuations, or the league's ability to retain designated players long-term are now filtered through how Berg handles those two coming negotiations.
The league Garber built is worth real money. Keeping it that way is Berg's problem now.
