MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Sunday he does not anticipate the league expanding beyond 32 clubs, a statement that ends speculative bidding for what had been an open-ended expansion pipeline and signals Sacramento Republic FC's $500 million franchise award in January 2023 may be the penultimate entry. The league sits at 30 teams after San Diego began play in February.
Garber made the remarks during a television interview without specifying a timeline for filling the final two slots or naming candidate markets. MLS has awarded 16 expansion franchises since 2013, collecting fees that rose from $100 million in 2014 to $500 million for Sacramento. The league does not publicly disclose expansion revenue allocation, but franchise valuations tracked by Sportico averaged $680 million in 2024, up 340 percent since the expansion cycle began.
The 32-team cap restructures the market for the remaining slots. Groups in Detroit, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas have circulated bid materials since 2022, expecting a prolonged competition. Garber's comment collapses that window. The league's next media rights negotiation begins in 2025 ahead of the current deal's 2026 expiration, and Apple's $2.5 billion ten-year streaming package assumes a stable team count for scheduling and content planning. Limiting the league to 32 teams aligns inventory with the broadcast model and prevents further schedule dilution in a league already playing 34 regular-season matches across four time zones.
Sacramento's entry remains unscheduled. The club's ownership group, led by billionaire Kevin Nagle, committed $500 million in expansion fees and $300 million toward a downtown stadium, but construction has not begun. The city approved a railyard site in 2021, yet financing details have not been disclosed. MLS has delayed launch dates before—Charlotte FC paid its fee in 2019 and began play in 2022. If Sacramento starts in 2026, the league would operate at 31 teams, leaving one slot.
The 32-team number matches the NFL and suggests MLS is prioritizing schedule symmetry and playoff format over geographic coverage. The league currently runs an 18-team playoff, and expansion to 32 clubs would allow a clean 16-team bracket or maintain the current structure with minimal adjustment. Garber has previously cited travel costs and competitive balance as constraints on growth, and the league's Concacaf Champions Cup commitments add midweek fixtures that complicate an already compressed calendar.
Detroit remains the most credible candidate for slot 32. Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem has led a bid since 2022 with backing from the Gilbert family, which owns the NBA franchise and controls downtown real estate. The group has toured MLS headquarters and met with league officials at multiple Board of Governors meetings. Phoenix and Las Vegas have explored bids, but neither has secured stadium agreements or disclosed ownership structures publicly. Indianapolis submitted a formal proposal in 2023, but the market ranks 15th in U.S. metro population, below the league's recent expansion targets.
The final slot will likely command a fee above $500 million. MLS has raised expansion prices with each award, and scarcity pricing applies when the commodity is capped. If Detroit enters at $600 million, the league will have collected roughly $5 billion in expansion fees since 2013, revenue that flows to existing team owners as a one-time distribution outside of normal league operations. Charlotte FC's $325 million fee was split among 26 teams, delivering approximately $12.5 million per club.
Watch for stadium financing announcements from Sacramento in the next six months and for Detroit's ownership group to accelerate talks with the league before the 2025 media negotiations begin. The 32-team cap also affects player allocation—MLS rosters currently allow 30 senior spots, and the league has discussed raising the cap to improve depth. A fixed team count simplifies salary budget modeling and collective bargaining, which resumes in 2025 when the current labor agreement expires.
Garber's comment Sunday was delivered casually, but the market heard it as policy. The bidding window is closed.
The takeaway
MLS caps at **32** teams, repricing the last two slots and ending a six-year open expansion cycle that collected **$5 billion**.
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