MLS bullish about growth despite lagging behind North America's biggest leagues

David Beckham and Jorge Mas, co-owners of MLS' newest addition, Inter Miami, expect their club to one day be a global brand in the world's best league.

"I think the MLS will be one of the top sports leagues in the United States. I think it will be on par with the best leagues in the world, the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga," said Mas.

"As the economics of the league improve and we can compete with those leagues for the best players in the world, I think 25 years from now you will see the MLS as potentially the best league in the world."

Los Angeles FC managing owner Larry Berg had the same message.

"I think we definitely have the demographics in our favor and I think we will pass baseball and hockey to become the number three sport in the US behind football and basketball," said Berg.

"Whether we can be a top-three league will really at the end of the day come down to money and whether we will be able to compete for players."

Media rights will be the fuel that drives MLS ambition.

MLS counts itself among North America's major sports leagues alongside the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

However, when it comes to media rights, MLS is still playing in the minor league coming to the end of an eight-year, $720 million deal with FOX, ESPN and Univision. In comparison, the NHL in 2013 inked a 12-year, $4 billion deal for Canadian media rights alone.

The NBA in 2014 announced a nine-year, $24 billion rights deal with ESPN and Turner Sports, while, according to CNBC.com, the NFL pulls in about $7.5 billion annually for its media rights, including $2 billion for Monday Night Football games.

Garber will be seeking something that will put MLS in the same league when negotiations begin.