{"id":18335,"date":"2010-08-05T15:38:45","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T20:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/main\/?p=18335"},"modified":"2010-08-05T15:38:45","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T20:38:45","slug":"mls-extends-garbers-deal-through-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/2010\/08\/05\/mls-extends-garbers-deal-through-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"MLS Extends Garber\u2019s Deal Through 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major League Soccer\u2019s board of governors has approved a contract extension for Don Garber that will see him continue to lead the league as commissioner through 2014, the Sports Business Journal<\/a> reports. The four-year deal, which sources said includes incentives and performance goals that could push his total pay to more than $3 million a year, ensures that the man who led the league from the blight of contraction to the boon of expansion will be at the helm in the future as MLS looks to continue its rapid growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019s done a phenomenal job and we\u2019re really proud of him,\u201d said Tim Leiweke, the CEO of AEG and chairman of MLS\u2019s board of governors. \u201cThe momentum he\u2019s created here is phenomenal. We want to keep this going \u2026 and I can\u2019t imagine anyone leading the charge but Don Garber.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seattle Sounders FC owner Joe Roth said, \u201cDon is the reason I\u2019m in the league. He\u2019s going to lead us into the future and, in the end, I think he\u2019ll be thought of like Pete Rozelle, as a guy who expanded and grew the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contract is Garber\u2019s fourth with the league. He signed his first in 1999 after 16 years working at the NFL. His previous contract, which was also for four years, was valued at $2 million a year.<\/p>\n

The first three years Garber spent with the league were marred by contraction and financial adversity, but he led the league through a remarkable recovery punctuated by the creation of the league\u2019s lucrative marketing operation (Soccer United Marketing), the development of a rule designed to attract international stars such as David Beckham, the advancement of soccer-specific stadiums, and the addition of nine new owners in a period of just six years.<\/p>\n

His most recent accomplishment was spearheading the negotiation of a five-year collective-bargaining agreement that improved player salaries and rights but protected the league\u2019s single-entity structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done everything ownership has asked him to do, and where he\u2019s taken the league from a credibility standpoint is impressive,\u201d said Mike Petruzzi, Fox Soccer Channel\u2019s vice president of sales. \u201cThe one thing they need to tackle is the product on the field, and [Thierry] Henry coming over [with the New York Red Bulls last month] \u2026 is a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garber\u2019s new contract is the first he negotiated with MLS\u2019s executive committee, which includes Leiweke, Roth, New England Revolution owner Jonathan Kraft, FC Dallas owner Clark Hunt and Toronto FC owner Larry Tanenbaum. He negotiated his previous contracts directly with the chairman of the board.<\/p>\n

Negotiations on the extension began nearly a year ago. With the league in the middle of labor negotiations, Garber and the owners agreed to wait to finalize the agreement until after a new CBA was signed. The new contract was signed prior to the FIFA World Cup in June.<\/p>\n

Over the next four years, MLS owners expect Garber to improve the league\u2019s television ratings, develop the league\u2019s new media business and develop the league\u2019s quality of play. Leiweke is confident Garber will achieve those goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy expectation is this is not the last time we\u2019ll negotiate with Don Garber,\u201d Leiweke said. \u201cHe\u2019s like a good life insurance policy that builds up a significant cash value as time goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Major League Soccer\u2019s board of governors has approved a contract extension for Don Garber that will see him continue to lead the league as commissioner through 2014, the Sports Business […]\n More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[37,2095],"tags":[2792,719,458],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}