Closing Shot: History Repeats

Commissioner Don Garber was joined by his executive team after MLS was selected as League of the Year at the inaugural Sports Business Awards.sports business journal

Major League Soccer kicked off the inaugural Sports Business Awards in 2008 with a win in the League of the Year category, and its repeat victory in this year’s program came for many of the same accomplishments, including but not limited to expansion.

“We’ve gone through so many, many challenges over the years,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said at that initial awards ceremony 12 years ago. “This is a great statement about dedicated ownership, passionate fans, sponsors that believe in a sport and broadcasters that are willing to take a risk on this sport.”

Sports Business Journal launched the SBAs in 2008, receiving more than 400 submitted entries before whittling that down to 49 nominees across 11 categories. When the crystal was handed out that year at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City, MLS found itself as an upset winner over fellow nominees MLB, the NBA, NFL and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

MLS had just expanded by three teams (Toronto, Seattle and San Jose, which was reactivated) and opened two new stadiums (BMO Field and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park). In addition, the previous year, the league greatly elevated its profile when legendary soccer player David Beckham arrived to play with the LA Galaxy.

Still, MLS was seeking its footing compared to the other well-established U.S. leagues, including those that were up for the same honor in 2008.

For comparison’s sake, at the time, MLB had secured a new seven-year television deal with incumbent Fox and new partner Turner, reportedly totaling around $400 million annually. Starting in 2007, MLS collected revenue from television rights for the first time in league history when it brokered an eight-year deal with ESPN. 

Meanwhile, the star-driven NBA was riding the momentum of LeBron James’ early days and the continued dominance by the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, led by Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, respectively. 

Much like MLS of old in the mid-to-late 2000s, the league has continued with a steady pace of expansion, which fueled this year’s honor. In 2019, MLS and Garber formally announced four expansion clubs in Austin, Charlotte, Sacramento and St. Louis, all of which will formally begin play in MLS between 2021 and 2023. Billionaire David Tepper, owner of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, paid a record $325 million expansion fee to bring an MLS club to the Queen City, a figure that turned heads throughout the sports industry.

This is MLS’s third win for League of the Year, having also done so in 2016. Only the NBA has more wins in the category, with four. Like in 2008, it was considered an upset, with MLS edging out the NFL, ACC and WNBA.

MLS’s next moves will determine if it can add to the trophy case. By 2023, the league will have 30 teams, comparable to its counterparts.Will MLS stop there or continue with further expansion heading into the North America-based World Cup in 2026?