For the second straight year, we surveyed 20 MLS executives around the league. ◻️ Who will win the MLS cup this season? ◻️ Which team had the best offseason? ◻️ Who is the most talented player? Their responses…
It was unanimous among the executives surveyed that this had theto be a really good deal for MLS. But while some were ready to declare the 10-year, $2.5 billion contract a good thing, others were a bit more hesitant to call it a win.
Most believed that in the long-term, MLS will be proved right for cutting the cord and signing this deal with Apple when they did. It may be slow to realize its potential, but eventually it will pay off. The biggest benefits repeated time and again? The global exposure, opportunity to snare cord-cutters and to grow the product with the younger generations.
Most teams have hired and added people on the content side of the club to support the demands required under the new deal, but it won’t make any difference on what you see on the field. Some said there was a direct link to that content and the potential for growth in investment elsewhere. “This is last best chance to become one of the best leagues in the world,” said one exec. “Huge opportunity cost to not investing between now and 2026. And Apple wants it to work because they want to move forward into other sports.”
That’d be a major step for the league. MLS teams can trade players for each other, allocation money, draft picks and other resources, but never before have they been allowed to swap them for cash like they can in transfers with clubs in other leagues. A number of executives mentioned that the mechanism could be beneficial for the league in terms of retaining talented players who, for one reason or another, just don’t fit well at their initial club. Others were excited about the increased possibility to acquire players who have already adjusted to and know the league. Those players, the executives said, come with far more certainty in terms of how they’ll fit into their new team than those acquired from elsewhere.
Another said that big changes to the roster rules will only happen if the league office shifts from thinking “‘we need to protect the league interests from the clubs themselves’ to ‘we need to work with the clubs to make this a more effective system.’” “Stop thinking about it as though there is a floor and ceiling that the marketplace gives a s— about,” the executive said. “Think about spend as a ratio of your overall revenue, instead. That’s important in terms of placing a ceiling on your spend. And then just go from there.
There are problems with MLS Next Pro. The quality of play is not as high as it was in USL. The stakes are lower. There are no crowds. There is less pressure. That limits a level of development that is important for young players. “It will facilitate more players getting more opportunities for playing time,” one exec said. “Some will say, ‘Yeah, but the quality of games aren’t as good.’ That’s 100 percent true. It’s going back in time to 2015 for USL. But does that mean MLS Next Pro is going to be stuck in that space for the rest of time? I don’t think so. It’s going to improve.”
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