Out with the old corporate suit, in with the private equity titan

If you thought Major League Soccer was finally going to lean into authentic football culture, take a seat and grab a drink. The MLS board of governors just voted to name LAFC co-managing owner Larry Berg as the next commissioner to succeed Don Garber. Yes, the league looked at 25 years of single-entity madness, designated player loopholes, and corporate hand-wringing, and decided what they truly needed next was a senior partner from a private equity firm called 26North.

You can practically hear the collective groan echoing from Seattle's Emerald City Supporters all the way down to the 3252 in Los Angeles. Don Garber spent over two decades playing the role of the ultimate corporate diplomat, slowly building a league out of sticky tape, expansion fees, and Beckham-sized dream projects. Passing the torch to a literal private equity suit feels like the league dropping any remaining pretense of being a supporter-first sporting enterprise.

The supporter group chat is officially toxic

Predictably, the fan response online lit up like a Christmas tree within seconds of the news breaking. The enthusiast crowd—mostly made up of tech-bro season ticket holders in Austin and LA—is already trying to frame this as an absolute masterstroke. This is how we close the commercial gap on the Premier League, they claim on Reddit boards, insisting that someone with deep financial roots can turn MLS franchises into global commercial monsters and finally sort out media rights distribution.

Then you have the purists, who are currently staring into the abyss. Their take is simple and ruthless: private equity does not care about heritage, relegation, or atmosphere. It cares about cost-cutting, revenue extraction, and inflating franchise valuations before an exit strategy kicks in. When your new boss comes from the private equity world, you do not get lower ticket prices or safer standing; you get corporate sponsorship on the referee's socks and $18 domestic draft beers served in souvenir cups.

And of course, the contrarians are out in full force reminding everyone that Berg already co-owns LAFC. They argue that if any owner understands how to build a high-profile brand with a legitimate supporter culture, it is the guy who helped construct BMO Stadium into one of the loudest venues in North America. But let us be real for a second: running LAFC with an unlimited budget in a glamour market is light years away from managing cheap owners in New England or Chicago who treat their clubs like tax write-offs.

The reality check MLS fans need to hear

Here is the cold, hard truth: MLS was never going to hire a radical visionary who would institute promotion and relegation or scrap the salary cap. The board of governors is an exclusive billionaire boys' club, and they hired Larry Berg because he speaks their language. They do not view football as a sacred sport; they view it as an asset class that needs high-yield returns.

Garber’s legacy was keeping the league alive and expanding the footprint across North America. Berg’s mandate is going to be monetization on steroids. Expect tighter controls on roster spend relative to revenue, aggressive pursuit of global exhibition tournaments, and even more commercial integration. If you were hoping the next commissioner would prioritize fixing refereeing consistency or saving the US Open Cup, you might want to adjust your expectations real quick.

Ultimately, the skeptics have the far stronger case here. You do not bring in a top-tier private equity partner to preserve tradition; you bring them in to squeeze every last drop of equity out of the fanbase. MLS fans wanted a commissioner who loved the game, but the owners gave them a guy who loves the spreadsheet.