As it approaches its 30th season, one could say MLS is hitting its marks. After a bumpy first decade, it has lost only one franchise (Chivas USA) in the past 20-plus years, and it enjoyed record attendance and rising sponsorship revenue in 2024. Attendance has jumped 10% since the coup of bringing Lionel Messi into the Inter Miami orbit two years ago.
MLS boasts 30 clubs, and at least 20 averaged attendance of at least 90% of listed capacity last season. Granted, going almost entirely under the Apple TV umbrella in 2023 was a major risk in terms of its place in the bigger zeitgeist, and poor MLS Cup television ratings over the past couple of years tell us it has come with some downside. (Frustrating some of your biggest stars with a confusing and ever-changing playoff format probably isn't the greatest thing in the world either.)
That said, if fans are coming to your games, your attempts at parity have produced eight different champions in eight years and your clubs' valuations are strong, then your league is probably accomplishing a lot of what it aims to accomplish.
But is the league any good? And how good can it be? Those questions remain forever tricky to answer, but three decades in, they're also forever worth discussing.
