Footy & Co.
Major League Soccer is exploring the sale of a league-wide presenting sponsorship, Sportico reported on Friday. The league has hired Altius8, a sports advisory firm based in London, to help find a partner, according to the report by Justin Birnbaum and Eben Novy-Williams, which cites several people with direct knowledge of the process.
Early conversations have been in the eight figures, those people told Sportico. At that size it would be one of the largest commercial deals in the league’s history. Nothing has been agreed, and a deal may not happen. Footy and Co has not independently confirmed the report.
| Question | What is reported |
|---|---|
| What is for sale | A league-wide presenting sponsorship of MLS |
| Who is running the search | Altius8, a sports advisory firm based in London |
| The size of the talks | Eight figures, in early conversations |
| Where that would rank | Behind only the Apple and Adidas deals among league-wide agreements |
| Will the league be renamed | No. MLS says it will not put a company’s name in front of its own |
| What the sponsor would get | Not decided. MLS says there is no set package |
| Is it done | No. Nothing is agreed, and a deal may not happen |
Source: Sportico, September 18, 2026. The size of the talks and the firm’s role are attributed by Sportico to people with direct knowledge; the rest is from MLS’s chief revenue officer, on the record.
Carter Ladd, the league’s chief revenue officer, spoke to Sportico on the record. After a decade and a half of expansion, he said of the timing, “it just feels like the right time.”
Ladd ruled out the most visible version of the idea. MLS has no plans to put a company’s name in front of its own, he told Sportico, the way England’s top division was once the Barclays Premier League. He also said the league is not selling a fixed package, so what a sponsor would receive is still open.
One open question is the jersey. Every MLS shirt carries an Apple TV patch on the sleeve, and one person told Sportico a new sponsor could take that spot. Ladd said Apple will stay on club uniforms.
Deals like this are routine in Europe and rare in American sports. Spain’s top division is LaLiga EA Sports, France’s is Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Italy’s is Serie A Enilive. Germany’s Bundesliga has no such sponsor. The Premier League dropped Barclays from its name before the 2016–17 season, in part to look more like the NFL and the NBA, which do not sell their names.
For scale, the two largest agreements MLS has are with Apple and Adidas. The Apple media deal was signed as 10 years and $2.5 billion and was later revised to end after the 2028–29 season. The Adidas extension is six years and $830 million, through 2030. An eight-figure presenting sponsorship would sit behind those two and ahead of the league’s other league-wide deals, Sportico reported.
The timing lines up with the biggest structural change in the league’s history. Larry Berg becomes commissioner on January 1, 2027, with Don Garber moving to chairman. The league then plays a 14-match “sprint season” from February to May 2027, and the first summer-to-spring season begins in July 2027 and ends with MLS Cup in late May 2028. The league has said the playoff format is under review. A presenting sponsor would arrive as all of that is being introduced.
A few questions, answered
- Is MLS changing its name for a sponsor?
- No. MLS’s chief revenue officer, Carter Ladd, told Sportico the league has no plans to put a corporate name in front of its own. What is being explored is a presenting sponsorship, the “presented by” kind.
- Who is selling the MLS presenting sponsorship?
- MLS has retained Altius8, a London-based sports advisory firm, to assist with the process, according to Sportico. Altius8 did not respond to Sportico’s request for comment.
- How much would an MLS presenting sponsorship cost?
- Early conversations have been in the eight figures, people with direct knowledge told Sportico. That would rank behind the league’s Apple media deal and its $830 million Adidas extension, and ahead of its other league-wide sponsorships.
- Which soccer leagues have a title or presenting sponsor?
- Three of Europe’s five biggest leagues: LaLiga EA Sports in Spain, Ligue 1 McDonald’s in France and Serie A Enilive in Italy. The Bundesliga does not, and the Premier League ended its title sponsorship with Barclays before the 2016–17 season.
- Has a deal been signed?
- No. As of September 18, 2026, nothing has been agreed and MLS says it has not defined what a sponsor would receive. A deal might not happen.