Don Garber has witnessed the MLS transform from a struggling soccer league without much standing or support into a league that is now attracting regular European interest. But the work is not done, as he admitted to the media before the 2024 MLS Cup on December 6. It’s about becoming better, right? “MLS is constantly, every year, looking at ways that we could incentivize our teams to use their resources better, to be very, very productive and efficient.”

Well, that course has led them to taking many decisions, such as ensuring the domestic league and the FIFA Club World Cup don’t overlap. And they are working on competing with the Liga MX on a more consistent basis. But, according to one ESPN host and former US player, that isn’t happening at all as long as the NFL idea persists. Sounds cryptic? Well, let’s break it all down.

It’s Herculez Gomez, the former US forward, who dropped an urgent video on YouTube on July 21. The title read, “MLS is trying to be the NFL.” How so? Well, he went straight to the point in the video: “So, I read this interesting report, soccer business.com, I believe it was, about how Major League Soccer wants to implement divisions much like the NFL does.” And he chuckled as he went, “It’s just, they want to become the NFL so bad.”

MLS already has the Conference system like the NFL. And the latest inspiration that has hit the MLS top brass is dividing those 15 teams in each Conference into 2 divisions. Safe to say, Herculez Gomez is not on board with this direction. And he explained why. Because he thinks it’s not a sporting decision. “NFL is one of the most powerful leagues, sports leagues in the world. And the owners get rich and richer every single day. And they have a commissioner who protects these owners. His interest is to protect the owners. And it’s a money-making machine for these owners.”

And he also knows who may be pushing this. “It’s Don Garber. Don Garber used to work within the NFL. He knows the ins and outs of the NFL.” For Gomez, the division system makes the competition even more closed and uneven. “You’ll have some teams who won’t play other teams that much, and you have other teams who have to play the best teams even more … And we’ve already seen what it’s done with the NFL.”

To be honest, we have already seen that in the Conferences system. The Supporters’ Shield Trophy is given to the team with the most points in the regular season. But rarely has that team gone on to win the MLS Cup. Why? Because sometimes, the Conferences restrict true competition, as in you can be a Shield winner by playing bad teams in your conference, while the true champion plays in the other conference and gets tested by better teams.

And with the implementation of the Division system, the groupings will get more rigid, and the true competition will reduce further. Then why is the MLS entertaining this? “They’re going to want more games, and they’re going to want more of these wildcard scenarios.” In short, more excitement, more thrill, and more entertainment appeal. And that brings the fans to the stadiums and the Apple subscription tabs. Gomez continued, “Trying to be the NFL is not a better way to compete. It’s a better way to make money for the owners. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.”

“They want to sell you games. They don’t want to give you better football,” the ESPN host said in the video. The former LA Galaxy forward shared his tips on how the MLS can become a better sporting league, like tweaking some Salary Cap provisions. But foremost, the focus should be on player development and football decisions that make them competitive enough to challenge the Liga MX.

The question is, what really is the focus for Don Garber and the MLS board? If it is the monetary angle that’s influencing the direction, then Gomez’s claims will fall on deaf ears.

The rising valuation of the MLS franchises and the money angle

Talking at the presser before the 2024 MLS Cup, Garber made one mention. “I saw something in the news today about transfer market values of each club (in the Club World Cup) and clearly, MLS teams are at the lower quadrant of transfer market value.” And he continued, “That’s something, over time, that I hope will continue to grow as our teams are investing more in players and hopefully generating more revenue to justify that expense.”

It is a puzzling equation. More than half of the MLS teams continue to operate at losses in terms of revenue. The streaming deal with Apple failed to bring in the money they hoped it would. The attendance in stadiums has increased. But broadcast money is negligible compared to the European counterparts. Maybe that’s why they are looking at the entertainment angle with the Division system.

But here is the paradox. In 2025, 5 MLS franchises have a value of over $1 billion. The average value of a franchise in the MLS is $690. To put it in perspective, the LAFC is valued more than the 2025 Champions League finalist Inter Milan and quarter-finalists Aston Villa. But do you think LAFC can compete against these European teams?

But at the end of the day, it depends on what Don Garber’s priority is. Let’s see how things unravel in the near future.