‘You’re going out of business’ - Don Garber outlines financial risks of promotion and relegation in MLS

While Garber struck a more open tone on promotion and relegation at his State of MLS press conference two weeks ago, his message was more direct on Tuesday. 

The commissioner warned that adopting such a system could disrupt MLS’s guaranteed revenue model and pose serious financial risks to the league’s long-term viability. He pointed to the league’s ongoing investment in infrastructure, which he said would be put at risk if MLS were to institute promotion and relegation.

“[MLS owners are] not philanthropists, they're industrialists, and they're visionaries and love the game,” Garber said on the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast. “They all love the game. You guys know that, you know most of our owners...Then you have to go out, and you gotta finance, uh, three stadiums coming on. There'll be almost $2 billion of in-, actually, more than $2 billion of investment. Nobody's writing $2 billion checks, guys. We live in a capitalist society with debt and debt guarantees.

“And those are guarantees by revenue. And have, and we don't have enough revenue anyway. So if you go into a dynamic where all of a sudden that revenue goes away, you're going out of business. And that's the reality, commissioner or otherwise.”

In Garber’s view, introducing relegation under current conditions would threaten the survival of clubs rather than strengthen competition.

“I think that there is a beauty in this idea of the competition at the bottom. But remember, they also have the competition for the Europa League. They have the competition for the Champions League. They have the competition for their version of the league championship, the Supporters' Shield. And that dynamic doesn't yet exist.”

Promotion-relegation has been a big topic in the American soccer scene in 2025 after USL announced it would be introducing the system to its league in either 2027 or 2028. 

Garber acknowledged that expansion has been a major driver of MLS’s energy and success, helping to broaden its fan base and market reach. However, he expressed uncertainty about reaching 32 teams, citing travel distances across the U.S. and Canada as a significant logistical challenge.

“Expansion has driven a lot of the energy and success of the league. And you guys have lived and seen that, right? You have a new team, the energy in the community, and the partners. And again, it takes years and years." 

Garber pointed to FCC Cincinnati's current success, noting that it took years of working with local government to get to where the club is now. While Garber appeared to be tempered in promising future expansion, he stopped short of committing to a fixed final number of teams. While 32 clubs have often been floated as a potential ceiling, he emphasized that no definitive decision has been made.

“And fans don't have to know about the sausage-making. They just wanna see a great club that represents the character of the city. I don't know if we'll go to 32 teams. Many of the other major leagues are at 32. It's a big country. Travel? You guys live this. Travel is a big issue for us.”

Garber emphasized that MLS remains in a startup phase, having invested heavily to build infrastructure and market presence.

“You know, the league is still a startup,” Garber said. “And it's still a startup, which is why the jobs that all of us have are hard because you're 30 years into a startup. And who does that, right?.... We have had to raise billions and billions and billions of dollars to support the growth of this league.

“In infrastructure, in training grounds, in development, in academies, in stadiums, in roster development, in marketing, in staffing. We have 10,000 employees league-wide. Think about that. That's, I mean, that we should all feel really good about that. And, if somebody is investing that it's 'cause they see an economic return.”

MLS is already looking ahead to its 2026 season, as the league will kick off with St. Louis CITY SC hosting Charlotte FC on Feb. 21.