(Note: Move this to general if it's not newsworthy enough yet.) According to this article from back in 2006, Don's current contract as league commish is up at the end of 2009. So.... How has Don done over the last 3.5 to 4 years? Should MLS keep him on, and if so, what kind of an offer should they make him? Who else would make a good commissioner in the event he decides to move on? Discuss!
I think he's been fantastic, has a good plan on where this leagues going, and is making good strides to get it there. I'd like to see him on for another 5 years. I want to see how the league goes after the current rapid expansion cools off and maybe we need a new direction after that.
My thoughts: 1) The league has continued to do fantastic, especially regarding expansion, increased TV programming and ratings, increased sponsorships, more soccer-specific stadia, and (perhaps most timely) hanging in there during a once-in-a-generation economic downturn. 2) Pay the man. 3) Hmmmm. Former deputy commish and current Arsenal exec Ivan Gazidis is a possibility (someday). Current MLS/SUM execs Mark Abbott or Douglas Quinn? USSF/Revs Exec Sunil Gulati? Seattle GM Adrian Hanauer? Someone from outside of soccer entirely? It's interesting to consider when at the same time MLS is negotiating a new extended bargaining agreement with the players union. Who is most responsible for MLS' success? The owners? The players? The boss?
he does a good job and should be paid well....best thing has he has done is not listen to the nutcases on this website on how to run the league..
More to the point, between his handling of the league and the creation of SUM, which was entirely his doing, it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks. The people he works for love him to death and he'll have this job for a long, long time.
What really impressed me is that he arrived without much soccer knowledge (I believe his background is in grid iron football), and yet did far more than the first commissioner to reach out to the adult/hardcore (whatever you want to call it) soccer fan. Of course he has made mistakes, but overall I believe he has done a very good job. As Bill said, his contract will be renewed, deservedly so. If its true that his contract and the unions collective bargaining agreement are both up for renegotiation, this off-season could become very complicated and intriguing.
These boards weren't nearly as popular 10 years ago, and it was pretty gloomy around here. 1998 WC was a disaster, MLS was on life support, soon to contract, with a game unrecognizable to most of the rest of the world. Just as a reminder, this is where we were 10 years ago: 12 teams 2 teams contracted shortly after for a total of 10 1 SSS Massive debt games on TV were paid infomercials Attendance--14,282 league average (went down to 13,756 in 2000) Shoot out, clock going down, etc, etc We are now, just 10 years later 16 teams 2 expansion teams in 2 years for a total of 18 10 teams in SSS next year (most of remaining 6 have decent lease agreements) We get paid by more than one tv station to broadcast our games A team averaging 30,000+ average attendance around 16,000 The most iconic player of his generation playing here SUM, probably the most profitable arm of MLS and many more I haven't listed If you would have told any of us "old timers" 10 years ago that the league would be in the shape it's in now, we would have called you crazy and said we were more likely to beat the #1 ranked team in the world in a tournament. Mr. Garber is worth every penny he gets paid. Give the man a (sizeable) raise.
All this. Garber is the best commissioner in American sports, hands down. My big worry is that the NBA will make him an offer he can't refuse when Stern is finally forced out (and if you've seen the empty seats this week, you know that's coming soon.)
I think most any other people would have taken this job and the league would have perished. He has performed miraculously. It all started with good o'le marketing hype, 1/2 truths and a glass half full attitude. Kudos for Don for having the Moxie to make the rain!!!!
An offer from the NBA could definitely lure Garber away. With all the talk about the NBA trying to penetrate the Euro market, I could see them going after Garber who had experience working on NFL Europe. The NBA commish job offers prestige and big money. However, the NHL? Unless the money they offered him was huge, no way. MLS has WAY more potential upside than the NHL. If MLS continues on its current path, it will take overtake the NHL in money, prestige and stature. At this point, Garber is probably thinking not only about money, but also legacy and with MLS he can leave a better legacy than he ever could with the NHL.
Don had done a lot of great things in his tenor. Other than forgetting the Quakes GM name when giving him the 2003 MLS Cup and letting AEG move the Quakes, I have had no problems with him. Sign him up!
That's where you lost the plot. Out of any sport NHL is the most likely to expand to Europe first. Hockey is still more popular than basketball in Europe and that is only rising. Even with NHL barely being mentioned as one of the big 4 team sports, they still make almost 20 x the revenues as MLS currently and that isn't going to change anytime soon. Besides, I'm guessing that NBA and NHL can pay far, far more.
Your other points are valid, if arguable, but how, exactly, does hockey's already-established popularity in Europe translate into upside for the NHL as a league? There are clubs there already, so (as the NBA is starting to finally realize) it's not like expanding the league with league clubs into Europe is going to be easy, or even desirable. The more popular the sport becomes in Europe, the stronger the European clubs become, and the less likely it is that the NHL can get a competitive foothold there. I just don't see it happening. I completely agree that MLS has a whole lot more upside than the NHL, and this is coming from a rabid hockey fan. So, to get back on topic, pay the man. He's worth much more to MLS than he is to the NHL, no matter how much he could make there.
Garber has done a tremendous job for MLS. His creation of SUM probably saved the league. More importantly, the USA is no longer looked at as a laughingstock in terms of a footballing nation. If someone told me when The Don was hired that in 10 years MLS would have been profitable, I probably would have only stopped laughing about 5 minutes ago. A ton of stuff went right for The Don, but he forged opportunities where there wasn't any, and got the most out of every one. As for him jumping ship, I don't see it happening. I'm sure there is a certain arrogant streak that tells him that there isn't anyone who can do the job better than he can, and it's not arrogance if you can back it up. Pay him, but let his pay increase percentage be similar to the salary cap increase of the new CBA. He can probably score credibility points with the Association if he gets the same raise they do.
I did forget to mention that, 10 years ago, every team in the league was owned by 3 guys. Today, with one possible exception I think? every team has its own owner. That in and of itself was huge.
I doubt the NHL expands to Europe. What is more likely is the KHL (or whatever they call it now a days) enters into a true partnership with the NHL so you basically end up with the NHL, and a continental European league that work together and eventually play for a single world championship. But outright euro expansion from the NHL I don't think so. NBA Europe is an intriguing idea, but how much would the euro basketball teams fight this? Can you see Barcelona getting a team in NBA Europe and Barca not being involved? Garber is in a really good position where he is. The NBA is a mess that is only going to get messier (I believe David Stern lost his mind during the lockout year and never recovered). The NHL is a solid though unspectacular league, if they could get back to their core markets it would be better. Some sunbelt locales worked, others not so much. If the US is awarded WC2022 the impact to MLS could be what it takes to really push MLS permanently into the American sporting lexicon. Sure the average American knows what soccer is, but how many are aware of let alone pay attention to MLS? Do you think Garber would pass on that opportunity?
2 1/2 years isn't "shortly". Garber took over during the 1999 season. The first thing he did was make MLS Cup 99 the first official MLS game where the time was kept on the field. Miami and Tampa played two full seasons during Garber's tenure. There was apparently some call for contraction after the 2000 season due to the increasing financial hangover from the start of the league, mainly the weight of carrying three league owned teams, as well as the under-capitalization of the Miami team. Several high profile suitors had kicked the tires of both Tampa and San Jose and walked away. Additionally, the original owners of New York, DC, and Los Angeles all left the league. Garber gets full marks for his part in helping the MLS BOG make the hard choices necessary to put the league's financial house in order.