MLS Commissioner says the quiet part out loud: Our transfers are a popularity contest

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Tom Weber | Editor

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has claimed that data from the league's Apple TV broadcast deal influences roster construction.

Apple TV became MLS's primary broadcaster in 2022 when the two parties agreed a 10-year contract worth $2.5 billion. It was a monumental step for the league, but it also illustrated how far MLS still has to go before it is able to truly crack the mainstream of American sports.

By comparison, the NFL's broadcast agreement is worth a whopping $110bn over 11 years, while the NBA's deal is worth $76bn over the same timeframe. For MLS, giving up a long-standing association with ESPN and mostly disappearing from linear TV - Fox Sports can still show matches in the US - was a major gamble.

However, it also opened up completely new opportunities. The centralisation has allowed MLS and Apple TV to experiment and tinker with various ways of broadcasting games, and it has given the league a more granular insight into the viewing habits of consumers.

In fact, according to Commissioner Garber, access to this data has transformed the way MLS teams think about roster construction and the players that are signed or put into the spotlight.

Garber: Apple data is affecting the players we’re signing

Speaking to Andrew Marchand, Garber appeared to admit that "fan interest" is "affecting the players we’re signing," which seems to align with MLS reverting to a more superstar-focused transfer approach.

"The data from Apple is so specific that it’s impacting the way we think," Garber said. "We know what games are driving fan interest, through technology.

"We’re looking at how we can have people looking at our highlights. It’s affecting the players we’re signing. It’s affecting how we’re structuring our rosters, which is probably the most fascinating part of this."

Garber is, of course, referring to the stunning impact players like Lionel Messi and Son Heung-min have had on the perception and popularity of MLS. When Inter Miami acquired the Argentine legend, they became one of the most recognisable clubs in world football overnight.

The social media reach of the Herons exploded. Highlight videos on MLS's YouTube channel amass hundreds of thousands of views, compared to the 10,000 to 30,000 that other teams get. The same applies to LAFC with Son and the Vancouver Whitecaps with Thomas Muller.

There are also more niche examples. There is a large and vocal contingent of South African fans who have flocked to MLS because several Bafana Bafana stars, like the Chicago Fire's Mbekezeli Mbokazi, play in the league.

Domestic talent also drives engagement, with Garber pointing to the "Baby Bulls" as an example. Teenagers Matthew Dos Santos, Adri Mehmeti, and Julian Hall have starred for Red Bull New York this season.

"We’ve got three young players on the Red Bulls who are 17 years old, who are three of the most exciting young players America’s ever had. And what does that mean? How do we take that player, turn them into their own media property?

"How do we have them push highlights for us? How do we have fan clubs around them in ways that are about what they’re doing as opposed to what someone is telling us we should be doing with that property?"

MLS needs to grow

Garber is openly saying what has been quite clear to anyone following MLS: transfers are, to some extent, a popularity contest. This is to be expected since the league is still growing and still trying to break into the mainstream.

Are Orlando City signing 35-year-old Antoine Griezmann because he is the catalyst that turns them into a playoff team, or are they signing him because he's a big name who can make this perennially struggling team attractive to sponsors and potential new supporters?

Are Cincinnati exploring a deal for 34-year-old Neymar because he will elevate this team to the next level, or because, well, he's Neymar and because signing him would be a message to other megastars that Ohio isn't so bad after all?

There has been a noticeable push to sign more internationally recognised superstars since the arrival of Messi because he genuinely has had a transformative, David Beckham-style impact on the league.

MLS, understandably, wants to capitalise on it and keep that momentum going. After all, Messi won't be around forever. Someone else will soon have to come in and fill that void. The World Cup on home soil is another factor.

Even if there appears to be little tangible excitement for the tournament because of FIFA's greed and collusion with Donald Trump, it has the potential to drive interest in domestic soccer, especially if fans realise that the stars they see at the World Cup play in LA, Miami, Seattle, New York City and Columbus.

The ultimate goal is to elevate MLS, and this is where things come full circle with the Apple TV deal. The 10-year agreement was renegotiated ahead of the 2026 season and will now end in 2029 as opposed to 2032. This means that negotiations over fresh terms are on the horizon.

More pressingly, MLS's linear TV deal with Fox is up at the end of this year. The league is seeking a new agreement that is "coterminous" with the Apple contract, as per Sports Business Journal, but getting a good deal is easier said than done.

It is a tough marketplace, especially for a fringe league like MLS. Every pair of additional eyeballs is therefore a boon. In order to operate from a position of strength - which still seems like wishful thinking - MLS needs to become much, much more attractive.

The quickest way to achieve this is by signing global superstars.

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Written by

Tom Weber | Editor

Tom Weber is a multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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