In 2021, US Soccer decided to not renew its 17-year partnership with MLS’ marketing arm Soccer United Marketing (SUM). As part of the partnership, SUM attracted deals for TV rights, sponsorship revenue, and other commercial agreements, and then split the money between US Soccer and SUM. By that time many felt that ending the partnership […]

MLS's marketing arm SUM has bought a sponsored article in Ad Age to promote the Mexico national team. The fact that MLS' marketing division Soccer United Marketing (SUM) is responsible for marketing and profiting from the national team of Mexico is surreal. For instance, imagine if the English FA (or Premier League) was marketing the […]

With the 2010 MLS season just around the corner, here's a look back at recent MLS attendance before we move forward. The final regular season numbers for 2009 look like this... 5 year comparison Full Season Averages  Avg  +/-  GP  2005   15,108     192   2006   15,504   2.62%   192   2007   16,770   8.17%   195   2008   16,460  […]

In my last post on MLS' future, I postulated that the television rights deals of the future will determine the level of play we will see on the field. I also stated that it is my belief that MLS must offer a better quality product on the field in order to achieve higher fees. Kind […]

TV Rules The number one item that should be on the agenda for MLS officials should be has to be the preservation of the TV rights contracts. Why do I believe that TV holds the future of MLS in its grasp? Because it's already saved the league once. And as of now, it could be […]

SUMmer of Soccer Continues The 'Summer of Soccer' which began on June 20, rolls on. As of now, over 1,455,000 have attended SuperLiga, the Gold Cup, the World Football Challenge and a variety of club and international friendlies. Since my last post on the SUMmer of Soccer, an International Friendly doubleheader was played and a […]

In my last post I prompted a discussion that centers around SUM and its relationship to MLS. If you are unaware of Soccer United Marketing(SUM), it was created at a time when the league was in danger of folding. Just 5 years after its first season in 1996, the league was looking at contraction and […]