According to ESPN’s Soccernomics, teams with the lower payroll do better in Major League Soccer. However, the reason is not only the salaries of the players, but more the high number of games. Since every team plays each other every other week, the effect is diluted.
It’s not just a matter of having or not having promotion and relegation. Most of the leagues around Europe have promotion and relegation. For example, the Premier League has promoted Manchester United to the Premier League and relegated Swansea City. I know that MLS is growing and there will be more clubs, which will promote and relegate. So it’s a league on its own right, especially considering the amount of quality players and clubs that play in the MLS. It’s going to be a league of its own.
The Major League Soccer is going to implement promotion and relegation between the League and the USL.
What is Promotion and Relegation in Soccer (Association Football)?
When the European league season starts, the best teams in the bottom two leagues qualify for a play off and a promotion play off. Promoted teams take the last spot in the top league and the teams that finished last in the top league go down to the second league.
When the bottom three teams in the top league move to the English League Championship, there is a chance that this will cause other top-six teams to drop down, leaving one more spot open. With those three spots now open in the top league, the three best records in the English League Championship move into those spots to compete.
This is a multi-level system. Ultimately, if you are a team that does not perform well, you will move to a lower division. Meanwhile, if you are a team that performs well and belongs to a lower division, you will move to the higher division to play.
Why Should MLS Have Promotion and Relegation?
Since 1996 MLS has gone through three different leagues. It originally started with the first and second division of the United Soccer Leagues, then the first division was split in 1996 to become two leagues, the top division and the second tier. The league was expanded in 2013 with teams from USL Pro, as well as teams from teams in Mexico’s Ascenso MX. The league will expand again after the 2020 season with four more teams from MLS, another team from USL Pro, as well as teams from Mexico’s Ascenso MX.
Motivates Teams to Win
This is only half true. A team that wins the Supporters’ Shield in the first year will go to the MLS Cup. A team that is in the playoff hunt every season should be expected to make improvements and compete for the trophy. However, with the MLS Cup being the only reward for making the playoffs, this incentive can be somewhat nullified.
With the way the United States does not have a relegation system, the only way to make sure that teams do not lose their position is to continue to play good football and not make big mistakes. When teams are on an equal footing, it takes good football to keep a position, and if you make good decisions you will stay in your position. Teams that want to improve their position must keep a strong offence and good defence, and a strong defence is needed to keep a good offence going.
The fact that we are seeing teams in the secondary levels have to win games, means that fans will be more interested in watching. Having an increase in fans watching means more attention and exposure to the different leagues.
Forces Teams to Make Trades and Acquire Top Talent
Since the designated player rule was put into effect, it has forced teams to be more creative in order to build a team that can compete. If a team is afraid of spending big money, it can’t afford top talent. This has forced teams to spend their money in a different way so that they can obtain top talent. Teams are even using the money they save by not paying a designated player as a salary to help build the rest of the roster.
There are Lower-League Levels in North America
A league for the second-level soccer leagues in North America, there are 3 leagues that make up the USL Championship. These are the USL League One, the National Independent Soccer Association, and the MLS Next Pro.
In theory, there is a chance that the league could become pro/rel, because of the way things have been going for the past 15 years. I would personally like to see it as a pro/rel league, but it would depend how the teams react to it.
It Puts MLS on the Same Level as the Premier League and LaLiga, in Theory
The biggest difference between the Premier League and MLS is that the English Premier League’s teams are all of similar ability, while MLS teams are not. The goal of the MLS, just like the English Premier League, is to get the team into the playoffs. If a team doesn’t perform well, it is relegated to the second tier, just like in Europe.
Why Shouldn’t MLS Have Promotion and Relegation?
Most leagues don’t have promotion and relegation because it costs too much money to manage it. Because of that, most leagues have a few big spenders who are guaranteed to make the playoffs every year and that are never going to have to worry about being relegated.
The Interest in MLS is Growing
Major League Soccer saw their average attendance at games grow by more than four percent last season in 2010, and an average of more than 20,000 more fans attended at each game.
Major League Soccer is getting bigger with it’s expansion in the United States. In 2021, the league will expand with ten new teams. This will allow MLS to catch up to the National Hockey League, which has 24 teams and is growing every season.
If the league would go to promotion and relegation with 8 teams, the average MLS team would have a higher attendance than an average NHL team. The average NHL team has an average of 16,000, while the average MLS team has an average of 15,000. A 16,000 average is a respectable number. You can see in the chart below that MLS attendance is increasing. This is an important point as, not only would MLS get a boost from this, but NHL would too.
North American Audiences Might Not Understand Pro/Rel
A system similar to the NHL has worked well for Canada and other sports. It allows for more regular schedule updates, and also keeps the league more competitive. MLS also has the advantage of being the oldest major sport in the United States of America, allowing fans to be more familiar with what they are seeing.
Owners Have to Spend Money to Join the League
However, the MLS cost of entry is not always that high. For example, LA FC paid around $200,000 to join the league in 2017. Meanwhile, Orlando City SC is on the brink of joining the league, but if they fail to qualify for the league, a new team could be set up in the Orlando area.
According to the Sports Business Journal, Nashville SC raised $60 million to build a $275 million stadium at the Nissan Stadium.
This quote from Mike Vago suggests that if Nashville SC fails, it will be another failure like the one of the Sacramento Republic FC in 2018.
The League Operates as a Single Entity
It is common for soccer in the United States to have to change its name according to who owns the team. This is because the team is owned by a corporation and not by a single person’s personal name. This was the case in the US when owners of the National Football League renamed their teams, which later led to teams like the Detroit Lions of the NFL to gain negative publicity for not being original.
The NFL has done more for the league than for the players and more for the fans than for the owners. While I don’t think this is a good thing for the players, I think it is for the league.
If teams start moving in and out of the top professional soccer league, then the league itself can crumble. For example, let’s say that Seattle Sounders or LA Galaxy, two top-rated MLS teams, had many injuries one year, and both get relegated down to a lower sports league level. Their game-day ticket sales + tv deals would go down next year, which would hurt the league since they are two of the biggest revenue drivers in MLS.
Is this a valid argument?
A:
No.
The Sport is too New for this Change
MLS wants to keep the game fun and exciting. They want to create a system that does not turn off fans. They want to create a system that promotes a well balanced, entertaining soccer game.
[original]: A pro/rel system would be great.
A Team Can Have a Bad Season Due to Injuries
In England, the Premier League is a big deal. For example, Manchester United fans don’t care if a team in Manchester is losing. That’s why Newcastle fans are so passionate about their club. The Premier League is a big deal in England. They don’t like their teams losing.
NASL Lesson + MLS Money Issues
In the early 2000s, the league started to realize losing fans due to the lack of interest in watching the games on television. This led to the league losing their television deals, as well as the owners getting rid of teams and merging them together to help keep them financially sound.
The league made its first change to the salary cap system, which was to eliminate the designated player rule for salary cap purposes. This did not change the actual structure of the D.P. rule which allows teams to sign up to three players outside of the league budget as long as they do not exceed the league’s salary cap.
Conclusion: Why Promotion and Relegation is Good and Bad for MLS
The league has a complicated structure. The teams are not separated by geography, or by their market size, or by their ownership groups. They are separated by their market size, and the amount of money they can spend on players. Some teams have larger attendance than other teams and have larger budgets than other teams. Some teams are better than other teams.
I’m not really sure what you’re asking. The only thing that is certain is that NASL is in the history books for every soccer fan. There is no such thing as pro soccer. It’s a mix of college, international, and other leagues. I would have to say that I’m interested in a professional league having the same kind of international appeal as the NFL or NBA.
