MLS chief discusses issues facing league
He visited to tout Lions’ push to fill Citrus Bowl for MLS opener.
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Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber says he hopes the league and players will agree to a new collective bargaining agreement, avoiding a strike.
“There is no doubt that neither the players, as they’ve told us, nor ownership, is interested in a work stoppage,” Garber said while visiting Orlando Thursday to promote Orlando City’s efforts to fill the Citrus Bowl for its March 8 MLS opener.
“We’ll get help from federal mediation if that’s necessary, and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to solve our differences.”
After helping officially launch Orlando City’s “Fill the Bowl” campaign, Garber discussed a variety of issues facing the league and the Lions with the Orlando Sentinel.
Question: How does the MLS pay structure need to change top to bottom in order to reach the league’s goal of
becoming one of world’s top leagues?
Answer: “The economics of the league don’t evolve overnight, it takes time. If you were to ask me three or four years ago did I think that we would have as many players as we do earning the kinds of salaries that they are in cases like Michael Bradley or Clint or [Sebastian] Giovinco or Robbie Keane I would have said, ‘No way.’ And here we are today, just a couple years later, and we have quite a few players that are earning a significant amount of money and in many ways more so than they could potentially earn overseas.
“Our minimum salaries continue to grow and our average salary is growing. But it can’t just grow immediately. Our revenues aren’t exploding on an immediate basis, they are going to grow over time. Our business still is relatively small compared to, certainly the other leagues here in this country, and many of the other soccer leagues around the world, and our player salaries have to be commensurate with our revenues. Anything short of that would be suicidal, we’ve seen that happen with the NASL. We’ve got to manage our business in an intelligent way.”
Q: But you are saying that there does need to be continued improvement in those areas in order to stay on the current track of growth?
A: “We’d like our league to be profitable, and right now it’s not. And while we’ve had lots of success in stadium development, we’re certainly excited about our new television deals with Fox and ESPN and Univision, we’re excited about some of the new commercial partners that have come into the league, the league as an enterprise is still losing money. And that’s something that we accept and have to manage our expenses, our players expenses, commensurate with the condition of the league.
“That being said, we need to continue to invest in players. Players are going to drive the overall interest in the league, we’ve got a massive $20 [million] to $30 million a year in player youth academy programs, we’re investing a massive amount of money in infrastructure, we are investing significantly in our designated player program and all of that is in excess of our revenue. So we recognize that it’s a business that is going to take time to be profitable, but it must become a profitable business at some point, or else our owners are not going to be able to continue to fund it. I don’t think anybody would argue with that. So the question, it’s a relative question of how quickly can you grow as you evolve your business?”
Q: The players have said without free agency, they are willing to go on strike. The league seems to be set on not moving into free agency of any kind. Do you see any meeting point between these two sides?
A: “Well, we have plenty of time between now and the start of the season to hope- fully resolve our key issues, and there are a number of issues, with free agency, as the players have stated, one of the key issues. Our system is one that our owners fought hard to protect, it’s one that they bought into, particularly the new owners who have bought into the league, and that’s that our owners will not bid against each other for player services. And that’s a key aspect of our entire system. We fully understand the players’ position on this issue. We’re going to try to work hard together to resolve, or to reach an agreement, and we’ve got some time to try to do so.”
Q: Obviously there is some time left and CBA negotiations can often feel contentious, but is this league equipped to deal with a potential work stoppage?
A: “I don’t know if the best answer is whether it’s equipped. As we’ve seen in pro sports, many leagues go through work stoppages whether they are strikes or lockouts and all leagues continue to thrive. But there is no doubt that neither the
“We’re going to try to work hard together to resolve, or to reach an agreement, and we’ve got some time to try to do so.”
players, as they’ve told us, nor ownership, is interested in a work stoppage. We’ve all worked hard to create the league we have today, there is a lot of momentum, so nobody is looking to have a work stoppage.
“The best thing I can say now with four weeks or so before the start of the season is we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’re committed to spending the time needed to reach an agreement. We’ll get help from federal mediation if that’s necessary and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to solve our differences. These negotiations are never easy, that’s just the nature of CBA negotiations and labor overall. So this doesn’t surprise me in any way and I’m not afraid of it, I know our owners aren’t afraid of it and I don’t believe our players are afraid of it.”
Q: Are you optimistic something will get done before the start of the season?
A: “I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I believe in our commitment to the league and our commitment to the players and our mutual desire to continue to work together to build Major League Soccer. So I do remain hopeful that we’ll be able to resolve this issue and be able to move forward.”