Who Is Larry Berg? What MLS’s New Commissioner Means for the League | OneFootball

Yes — it’s worth an English version. The strongest angle is not simply who Larry Berg is, but what his appointment signals for MLS after Don Garber.

Larry Berg has been a managing owner of LAFC since 2016 and is a familiar figure to those who follow the Los Angeles club closely. His appointment marks a generational shift for MLS as the league enters the post-2026 World Cup era.

Who is Larry Berg?

Berg grew up in the Philadelphia area and has played football since he was eight. He earned an economics degree from the Wharton School before completing an MBA at Harvard Business School.

He spent more than three decades at Apollo Global Management, where he was a senior private equity partner. Berg retired from the firm in 2022 and later joined 26North, the investment company founded by Josh Harris.

His name will already be familiar to longtime LAFC observers.

Berg joined the ownership group as a limited partner in 2014, when MLS awarded an expansion franchise to the group led by Henry Nguyen. In 2016, he became one of the club’s three lead managing owners alongside Bennett Rosenthal and Brandon Beck.

Under that leadership, LAFC made its MLS debut in 2018, opened BMO Stadium and won two Supporters’ Shields, in 2019 and 2022, as well as the 2022 MLS Cup. The club is now valued at around $1 billion or more.

Berg also holds a minority stake in AS Roma alongside Rosenthal and previously invested in Welsh club Swansea City.

He will need to give up his interest in LAFC to take the commissioner role without a conflict of interest.

His relationship with U.S. Soccer

The MLS commissioner does not hold a formal position, board seat or executive role within the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Berg describes himself as a longtime supporter of the U.S. men’s national team. He has also argued publicly that MLS academies can help both the league and the national team move ahead of Mexico in player development.

Close cooperation with U.S. Soccer will still be unavoidable. Disciplinary matters, international call-ups, scheduling and the U.S. Open Cup all require regular coordination.

That relationship should be productive in areas such as youth development and reducing calendar conflicts.

Criticism of MLS as an “American Super League,” built around a closed structure without promotion and relegation, will not disappear with a new commissioner.

However, Berg’s experience with Roma and Swansea — clubs operating in promotion-and-relegation systems — may help MLS reframe its position: a closed league with rising competitive standards, rather than one isolated from the wider football world.

More investment — and the end of the three-DP limit?

Berg is likely to support higher investment across MLS, although not a radical spending overhaul.

He already sits on the league’s sporting and competition committee and has been directly involved in discussions over the salary cap.

Proposals under consideration include a higher, more flexible cap and a minimum spending floor for every club. Such a system would spread investment more evenly across squads while preserving Designated Player slots for marquee signings.

At LAFC, Berg backed competitive but controlled spending. The club used its DP positions effectively and recruited expensive talent such as Denis Bouanga without matching the league’s biggest spenders dollar for dollar.

The expectation is that Berg will favor rules designed to raise the league-wide standard without abandoning the financial stability valued by owners.

The major question is how he would approach a possible expansion of the DP rule. Allowing four Designated Players per squad has regularly surfaced in debates over whether MLS places too many restrictions on spending.

What it means for the next media-rights deal

MLS’s agreement with Apple runs through the 2028–29 season. Discussions over the next cycle have already begun, with some owners reportedly targeting annual rights revenue of between $400 million and $500 million — well above the current figure of approximately $250 million.

Berg is not a media executive. That was the key strength of David Nathanson, another finalist for the commissioner position.

Berg’s advantages lie in negotiation, investment and improving the product itself. A move toward the European calendar and more competitive roster rules could help raise the league’s value.

The bet is that better football, combined with the commercial experience developed at LAFC, will strengthen MLS’s position when the next media agreement is negotiated.

What MLS can learn from LAFC

LAFC has built a model around strong local energy, a diverse supporter culture and a packed stadium with a clear identity. BMO Stadium has become one of the league’s leading examples of a purpose-built football venue.

MLS could also draw from the club’s heavy investment in its academy as a long-term growth engine.

LAFC’s ownership structure offers another lesson: multiple investors can still make quick, aligned decisions. Berg has shown that a club can compete consistently without always being the league’s biggest spender.

That approach could translate into stricter stadium standards, stronger academy incentives and a renewed emphasis on local roots, even as MLS becomes increasingly global.

Berg vs. Garber: What changes?

Berg arrives with direct experience as an owner and operator. He helped build a club from the ground up and turn it into a champion.

He also brings private equity discipline, international multi-club experience and detailed knowledge of the reforms already being discussed within MLS committees.

Garber, by contrast, offers 27 years of institutional experience. During his tenure, MLS grew from roughly 10 clubs to 30, built a network of new stadiums, secured the Apple agreement and navigated several major crises.

He will remain involved as chairman of the board from 2027, providing continuity during the transition.

Berg inherits a far stronger foundation than the one Garber encountered. His challenge is to take it to the next level.

No declared political affiliation

There is no clear public record of Berg making partisan donations, declaring a political affiliation or expressing a strong ideological position.

Private equity executives are often assumed to be fiscally conservative, but Berg’s work with education boards and the Crisis Text Line, along with his arts philanthropy with his wife, Allison Berg, suggests a more culturally centrist profile.

He has generally avoided party politics when speaking publicly about football.

The most likely outcome is a pragmatic commissioner focused on the sport and the business rather than an ideological agenda. Given the way politics has increasingly intersected with global football, that will still be worth monitoring.

The MLS glass ceiling

Berg’s biggest challenge is to establish MLS among the world’s five leading leagues, both competitively and commercially.

That ambition also includes developing players capable of winning major trophies with the United States national teams.

The league’s closed structure, competition from North America’s four major sports leagues and skepticism toward its “Super League” model remain significant obstacles.

Success will be measured through media-rights growth, international respect and sustainable club profitability — not simply by adding more expansion franchises.

Why Berg, and why now?

Berg is an MLS insider. He has already helped build a model club in LAFC and serves on committees working through the league’s biggest proposed changes, including the shift toward a European-style calendar and revised roster rules.

The timing matters.

MLS is preparing to capitalize on the momentum of the 2026 World Cup, transition to a new calendar from 2027 and negotiate future collective bargaining and media-rights agreements. At the same time, Garber is preparing to step away after nearly three decades in charge.

Who else was considered?

The final list of candidates included Berg and David Nathanson, the former Fox Sports executive who holds a minority stake in the Seattle Sounders and was a founding investor in NWSL club Angel City FC.

Nathanson brought the stronger media and broadcasting résumé.

Paraag Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises and a senior figure at Leeds United, was reportedly among the three finalists but withdrew before the final decision.

Berg ultimately secured the required two-thirds majority in the owners’ vote.