Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has received a five-year contract extension through December 2018.
MLS revealed on Thursday that Garber's new contract began on Jan. 1.
The 56-year-old Garber has run MLS since 1999, when he replaced Doug Logan, the league's first commissioner. Garber had spent the previous three years running NFL International.
"It's the first five-year deal I've signed in 15 years. Every other deal was a three-year deal," Garber told SI.com. "I had always been of the mind that you sign three-year deals so you can give everybody the flexibility to determine what you want to do. The league was younger and less mature. Now we're teeing up a long-term commitment to each other."
Garber would not say whether he would seek another deal as this one expires, when he will be 61.
He also told SI that he is cancer-free after undergoing surgery in July for prostate cancer.