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Don Garber's tenure as Major League Soccer's Commissioner is drawing to a close, and two candidates have emerged as finalists to succeed him as the league pushes into its fourth decade.
The 30 owner-operators represented by the commissioner narrowed their search down to three finalists before one reportedly withdrew. LAFC co-owner Larry Berg and veteran media executive David Nathanson remain the two finalists, after San Francisco 49ers and Leeds United executive Paraag Marathe reportedly removed himself from contention, according to ESPN.
MLS team owners are expected to cast votes in August to determine who will step into Garber's position, a role the 68-year-old has held since 1999 — three years after the league was established.
Garber will continue in the position through 2027, when MLS transitions to a new calendar to align with Europe's top competitions. The scheduling change kicks off with a 14-game sprint season in early 2027, followed by the late-summer launch of the 2027–28 season — the first MLS campaign to span two calendar years.
"I will be in this office until 2027, and whether or not I'm commissioner, we'll wait to see," Garber told Front Office Sports this week. "There is a succession process that is not only ongoing, but I'm supportive of it. I'm embracing it. I feel great about it."
A central priority for the league will be sustaining its momentum following the buzz surrounding the 2026 World Cup, with particular attention on its media and broadcast agreements. Apple TV currently serves as the primary global rights holder, with only a limited number of matches available on traditional linear television channels.
Larry Berg
Berg has been part of LAFC's ownership group since the club's inaugural season in 2018, following the franchise's rebirth from its days as Chivas USA, and served four years as the Black and Gold's managing owner, making him one of the most MLS-familiar candidates in the running.
In 2020, he predicted that MLS could overtake the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball within the decade, citing the sport's expanding appeal and its demographics "in terms of youth and diversity."
"I think we'll pass baseball and hockey to be the number three sport in the U.S. behind football and basketball. I think our crown jewel in the MLS is our academies," he said at the time. "I think the good news is players want to play here. We're the United States of America; people want to live here; it's an incredible lifestyle; the infrastructure is fantastic."
Beyond his ownership and leadership role at LAFC, Berg has spent more than three decades in private equity, including 30 years as a senior partner at Apollo Global Management before transitioning to investment firm 26North in 2023.
David Nathanson
For MLS owners seeking a candidate with deep knowledge of the media industry, David Nathanson stands out. The former Fox executive spearheaded the efforts to secure television rights for the 2018, 2022, and 2026 men's World Cups for Fox Sports, a network that has also previously held broadcast deals with MLS.
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David Nathanson and his wife, Sabina Nathanson, hold a stake in the Seattle Sounders investor group, and he was a founding investor in both the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC and the NHL's Seattle Kraken. He also serves as a director of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and, outside of sports, is involved in his family's holding company, Mapleton Investments.
According to a report from The Athletic, his media background could prove to be a significant asset for MLS, particularly given that the current Apple TV deal may expire in 2029 — three years ahead of the originally agreed end date of 2032.