Full 90: Heineken Pours Rights with MLS

On Tuesday it was announced that Heineken will become the official beer of Major League Soccer beginning in 2015. This five-year agreement replaces Budweiser’s nearly 20-year sponsorship with the MLS. The agreement is valued at approximately $50 million.

Full 90: International Champions Cup is Champion

After a widely popular Guinness International Champions Cup, Relevent Sports plans to expand the North American tournament to Asia next year. The North American tournament will maintain the same format of eight teams, while the Asian tournament will feature four or six teams. While he International Champions Cup is essentially a friendly campaign, hosting dual international tournaments will be a profound step if it permits MLS teams to face-off and gain global exposure alongside the mega-clubs of Europe and the rest of the world.

Basketball Jersey Sponsors

With millions upon millions of dollars being thrown at teams for sponsorship deals each year, their company names end up on billboards, signs, and videos at stadiums and arenas; hell, stadiums are named after sponsors!  However, the one item in basketball that has yet to be touched is the uniform.  The uniform seems to be the sacred item that will never be touched by an outside sponsor.  The pinstripes of a New York Yankee home uniform, the Bay Bridge logo on the front of the Golden State Warriors' jersey, and the number written loudly and proudly on a football jersey.  It just does not seem appropriate to add 'Toyota' or 'TD Bank' to the front of the jersey.  Yet, that could be a source of more income to an organization.

Under Further Review No. 9: Dave Zeitlin

In most cases, the fans are the ones consuming the stories about a particular player or team, not having stories written about them. The story of Philadelphia Union fans Eric and Gabe Shertz is not most cases. Dave Zeitlin's story about the two and the impact the family had on the Union, the Sons of Ben and soccer in the are is time well-spent.

Zeitlin covers the MLS and the Union for MLSsoccer.com as well as CSNPhilly.com. He took a moment to speak with the SMTSU about what it's like writing a story about fans instead of players, MLS media coverage and how the World Cup could influence the MLS.

Full 90: MLS Pulls Plug on Chivas USA

Recently it was announced by Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber that the league had purchased Chivas USA from owners Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes. Vergara, an owner of the MLS franchise since it’s inaugural season in 2004, and Fuentes joining the ownership team in 2012, can now lay to rest the the running-joke of the MLS. Chivas USA, based in Cason, California, will now maintain ownership by MLS until the league can select an appropriate replacement. Effective immediately, the league will assume all club operations.

Full 90: Becks and 'Bron Take Miami

On Wednesday, Major League Soccer announced David Beckham exercised his option to purchase an MLS expansion team in Miami. Within his MLS contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy, existed a clause to enable Beckham to purchase an expansion team at a discounted fee of $25 million, a strategic effort to keep one of the most polarizing figures, connected to the MLS. The announcement was made on Wednesday during a news conference that featured MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Seattle Sounders set MLS record, average 44,038 fans per game

With the regular season over, Major League Soccer released its annual attendance report. To no avail, the Seattle Sounders once again topped this year’s regular season average attendance. This is the fifth straight year that Seattle has claimed a new benchmark. This year, the Sounders averaged 44,038 fans at CentruyLink Field.

Beckham Decides on Miami for MLS Team

Last December David Beckham left the Los Angeles Galaxy. He felt that at that point of his career it was time to retire and move on to new ventures. That new venture will be his own MLS team. Beckham has been considering a location for a few months now, and he has finally settled. The start up fee for Beckham was a discounted $25 million. That is quite the fair price for the ex-MLS star considering BPL team Manchester City and the New York Yankees payed a whopping $100 million to launch their team the New York City FC. The MLS still has to give Beckham the go-ahead to choose Miami as the location for his team. 

Beckham group is in final stages of Miami expansion bid

David Beckham is in the midst of another shopping spree; his most expensive purchase to date. Beckham is in the final stages of becoming the owner of a new Major League Soccer franchise. The team will most likely be located in Miami, Florida.

HIO: NBC Ready for English Premier League

On Saturday, the English Premier League kicks off a new season. Aside from the usual managerial changes and player moves in the offseason, soccer fans in the U.S. should be excited for another reason. NBC will be broadcasting every match of the season, either on air or online.

MLS Announces Plans for Expansion

Perhaps the biggest storyline from Wednesday’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game came at halftime when MLS Commissioner Don Garber revealed the league’s plan to expand to 24 teams by 2020. This news comes as a clear sign of Garber’s commitment to developing the MLS brand and the continuing identification of new markets within North America.

Drexel SMTSU - The Sports Biz Report - Soccer in America

MLS Expansion Draft, 2011

Mere days after David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and the rest of their LA Galaxy teammates hoisted the MLS Cup, the league is busy again as the MLS Expansion Draft will be held today at 3pm EST.

The league's 18 teams and players will be holding their breath as the newest team for the 2012 season, the Montreal Impact, will select 10 players during today's draft. In the past, expansion drafts have given new teams a basis for building upon for their first season in MLS. Today will be no different, as the Impact have a host of talented players to consider choosing.

Not all current MLS players are eligible for selection. Earlier in the week MLS teams submitted a list to the league of the 11 players they were allowed to protect from being taken by the Impact. A complete list of unprotected players can be found here.

Among the top players eligible for selection are Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes), Omar Bravo (Sporting Kansas City), and Justin Mapp (Philadelphia Union).

While we're no experts, a detailed mock draft by some experts can be found here. Do you agree with the experts or disagree? Leave us a comment down below with your thoughts.