MLS's calendar, roster changes aren't happening yet, but it's a matter of time

New York Times

24-07-2025

AUSTIN, Texas — Major League Soccer is moving forward.
That was the message from commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday night ahead of the MLS All-Star Game. While the league's board of governors did not officially vote on any changes during its meeting this week, MLS is moving toward what could be significant changes, albeit at its own deliberate pace.
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The league is weighing three tiers of major changes that would restructure what MLS looks like. It would be a new MLS — or what Garber branded as MLS 3.0.
The first tier is flipping the calendar to a fall-spring format. The change would align MLS with the FIFA international calendar, allow teams to better leverage transfer windows and align the playoffs in a more attractive part of the year for the league's media partners.
'We believe that that alignment is something that makes sense,' Garber said.
Official vote or not, that's as strong an endorsement as you'll get from the commissioner. He's doing it because there is a broad amount of ownership support. Flipping the calendar is a delicate dance that has many moving parts. It will force some northern markets to alter their stadiums and training facilities. It will upend when MLS plays its most important games. It's not a small step.
'Making this change is seismic,' Garber said. 'It's not something we should do lightly. We obviously have teams across multiple climate zones, multiple time zones, unlike any other league in the world, and if we do make the change, we're not going to go back on that decision.'
But the board is behind it. One source told The Athletic that an unofficial straw poll conducted here indicated as many as 27 of 30 owners in favor of the change.
The second tier of change would reformat the competition itself – changing the structure of the regular season and playoffs.
'It's going to make the regular season more meaningful,' Garber said. 'It'll be more aligned with the rest of the world in terms of how they play their competition. And I think our playoff format will be really cool, really unique, very different from anything that happens in North America.'
The third — and most important tier — is what Garber called 'a review of our entire roster strategy.' Modernizing MLS's roster rules to allow it to truly compete in the global market, and by extension field more competitive teams.
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MLS's roster strategy was built to limit costs as the league went through its growth phase. If we're entering MLS 3.0 now, MLS 2.0 was about building out infrastructure and permanence. League owners poured billions of dollars into soccer-specific stadiums and world-class training facilities. If MLS can turn some of that financial heft into the on-field product, the games we see on the field will improve. The hope is that eventually leads to bigger audiences, which in turn leads to more media revenue. As it stands now, MLS can't truly compete against other leagues with the system that exists now — whether that's in the Concacaf Champions Cup or the FIFA Club World Cup.
Those three tiers of changes could completely redefine MLS as a league. They would also enhance other areas Garber discussed Wednesday, including strengthening the player development pipeline and continued investment in new stadiums (Miami, New York and Chicago are set to open new buildings in 2026, 2027 and 2028, respectively) and the continued evolution of the league's media partnership with Apple. Garber mentioned making it 'easier for our fans to get access to our game.'
Of the major reforms Garber said: 'It is about moving forward, as we always do, with energy and with purpose and with ambition. It is about the next era of growth for our league.'
That leads to a natural follow-up question: If it's all such a game-changer, then why hasn't it happened yet, and what's the hold-up?
The X factor is the collective bargaining agreement. In order to flip the calendar, MLS needs the MLS Players Association's approval. Overhauling the roster rules will also require a new agreement. The current CBA is set to expire on Jan. 31, 2028. If MLS is going to make these changes in 2027, it'll have to rework the deal earlier than expected.
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At this point, MLS and the MLSPA have not had any discussions about amending the current CBA or sitting down to potentially negotiate a new agreement on an earlier timeline. The players would be incentivized to do so. Changing the roster rules would likely put more money in the system and more flexibility in how to spend it. But tensions between the MLS and MLSPA flared around bonuses for the FIFA Club World Cup. The relationship feels strained.
Nevertheless, if the goal is to put these changes into effect by 2027 — one year after what will be a transformational 2026 World Cup — the two sides need to get started as soon as possible. MLS already missed the opportunity to fully leverage 2026 by introducing these changes coming out of a tournament that millions of American sports fans will watch. The goal has to be to get an agreement done in time to hammer home that MLS 3.0 is coming with a marketing blitz during next summer's tournament.
It's clear the league needs to grow, but MLS is being cautious. The CBA is a not-insignificant hurdle toward progress. Garber endorsing the changes on Wednesday night was at least a step in the right direction.
MLS 3.0 is coming. How fast it can get here – and how impactful it can be – will determine the next phase of the league's story.