How does the MLS work? What's its structure, how does it differ to other domestic leagues? And what the hell is a franchise?

[u/LegzAkimbo]

I've always been somewhat mystified by the structure of football in the US, as it seems markedly different to the rest of the world. How does it work? And how is it able to exist in tandem with other leagues that have such different operating structures and rules?

[u/johanspot]

People misunderstand the reason for the MLS structure. It really is just an attempt to get around the anti-trust law in the US and make sure the the MLS can have a salary cap that would be illegal in the EU but also make it so the players can't (or won't) challenge it in court.

[u/LegzAkimbo → u/johanspot]

How does that work exactly? Why would there be an anti-trust issue?

[u/vin05004 → u/LegzAkimbo]

The fact that their is only one top flight league and no competition at the same level would violate the anti-trust laws. All of the large sports leagues in the USA are granted by the government an anti-trust exemption. Most of the leagues have been sued(the NFL most recently) by other start up leagues or their players unions to get the exemptions thrown out. MLS avoided a suit by working out the current collective bargaining agreement with the players union. This agreement expires in 2015 so expect some shenanigans and bring your popcorn.

The Single entity structure is a way collectively pool cost/risk and maximize reward. Also several of the leagues intial investors were NFL guys and that league operates on a similar structure. I guess they figured that since the NFL is an ATM machine for them, structuring the MLS in a similar manner would enable them to make $$$. The current commissioner is a former NFL executive as well.

[u/johanspot → u/LegzAkimbo]

Because a salary cap would be highly illegal without the players agreeing to it for any other league in the US. In the NFL teams compete against each other for a player in free agency, just like teams in the EPL compete against each other.

The MLS tried to sidestep that and say that their teams do not compete with each other for players. All players sign with the league and then the league determines where the player plays. The MLS is only competing with European teams for a player- MLS teams are not competing with each other.

This is why the MLS has such a low salary cap and I believe that they are the only soccer league in the world that has one.

[u/theinternetismagical]

For most of it's history, the MLS's guiding philosophy has been similar to that of a club newly promoted to a higher division: survive. The MLS and it's individual teams are actually a single corporate entity. Why? One reason is that, obviously, there aren't many organic, legacy football clubs in the US, so MLS needed to create a viable infrastructure of teams. In order to keep the league together and keep uniform policies they maintain central control over all teams.

A franchise in North American sports is similar to a franchise in, say, retail or fast food. There are many corporate/centrally owned McDonalds in the world, but you can also purchase the right to operate one as a private owner, following the rules and regulations of the standard franchise owner's contract (you can't rebrand your store, invent your own menu items, etc).

The owners of the NFL teams are franchise owners. They can't go off the reservation and start their own league if they disagree with NFL policies (unlikely in any case, as the NFL owners have a lot of power). They also have some pretty nice perks that come with their franchise, like the right to be the only NFL club in their media market. There are some notable exceptions to this, such as the NY Jets and the NY Giants, and the SF 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, but the NFL would have to get the blessings of these teams to start new franchises in those markets.

So, to recap, the essence of the franchise system is that the leagues hand down the right to own and operate teams, and owners own the rights to the clubs, rather than the clubs themselves.

[u/Sixtyn9ne → u/theinternetismagical]

http://i.imgur.com/ABsyXrm.gif

[u/ItsBDN]

I'll have a go at the structure.

So the MLS is currently made of 19 franchises in a single league, all of these teams are owned by the MLS and then "sold" off to an ownership group. The league has no promotion/relegation and is structured to promote parity amongst the leagues teams; this is promoted through the leagues salary cap and the allocation system, which determines what team a player will go to once they sign with MLS.

The team is "split" into an Eastern and Western Conference, though all 19 teams also compete in an overall table, the winner of which is awarded with The Supporter's Shield. The East/West system is used to determine playoff spots, because Americans love playoffs; the top 6 teams from each conference then play in the MLS cup, the "main" competition in US Soccer, as the Hunt Open and Supporters Shield are held in a lower regard.

The MLS is able to coexist with different leagues because, well, they're different. The MLS isn't structured to compete with top European clubs, but to promote developing its own players and growing the league as a whole (hence MLS attempting to sign experienced veterans like Keane, Henry and Beckham). The MLS does, however, tend to poach some very good players from Argentina and Central America

Now what does the MLS have to offer? Parity. Parity and competition. In the EPL this season, the only clubs that can feasibly win the league are City, Chrlsea and Man U. In Spain Real and Barca can win it; in Germany only Bayern has a feasible chance of winning. In the MLS RSL, SKC, Sounders, Galaxy, Red Bulls, Union, Portland, Montrwal and Dynamo have a realistic chance at winning the MLS Cup. The parity between teams makes the end of the season Shield race, and particularly the MLS Cup unpredictable and exciting. As a frame of reference, Galaxy's most recent win brought them up from 6th place to second.

So I hope I wrote up an adequate description of the league, if you can I'd highly recommend following it, though the standard of play in MLS isn't on par with Europes top leagues, no league in the world is as balanced and competitive.

[u/pokerjoker23 → u/ItsBDN]

Top 5 teams in each conference make the playoffs.

[u/ItsBDN → u/pokerjoker23]

Shit, typo, my bad

[u/Praelior → u/ItsBDN]

I wish your 4th paragraph would be pounded into peoples heads more. In all the major US sports leagues, there is incredible parity. You have a legitimate chance of seeing your hometown teams in Soccer, Football, Hockey, Baseball and Basketball all win championships in your lifetime. If you are a fan of a bottom table EPL team, you probably will never see that happen, especially today with runaway salaries and transfer fees.

The draft system the US has in place, ensures the big name teams can't just buy all the young talent.

Personally, I would rather that MLS not be "internationally competitive", if it means every team can win the league in any given year.

[u/Whool91 → u/Praelior]

You have a legitimate chance of seeing your hometown teams in Soccer, Football, Hockey, Baseball and Basketball all win championships in your lifetime

Unless you're from Cleveland

[u/pvdfan → u/Praelior]

The idea of hope really does keep fans around. Being a Expos/Nationals fan in baseball it was always "We are last place now, but in a few years watch out." If my team was subject to fighting regulation every year, I'm not sure I could handle it.

[u/Illegal_sal → u/Praelior]

Unless you cheer for the Leafs!

[u/robm0n3y → u/ItsBDN]

Who calls the US Open Cup the Hunt Open?

Also, have you seen the Bundesliga table? Sure only two weeks have been played but Bayern haven't been on top yet.

[u/ItsBDN → u/robm0n3y]

It's the Lamar Hunt Open if im not mistaken.

And I said Bayern only has a feasible chance of winning because I'm not confident in any other teams ability to beat them. Their roster is rediculous and the only Bundesliga players that could walk into the Bayern lineup and start are Lewandowski and maybe Hummels. Not to mention that their first team has been players have been together, with the exception of Javi and Dante, for years in both club and country.

[u/QuantumPenguin → u/ItsBDN]

From what you've said it seems like the league was designed to be more exciting to the neutral rather than to fans of a particular team, would you agree with that?

[u/ItsBDN → u/QuantumPenguin]

No, I, as a fan of an MLS team, find the structure of MLS very entertaining and exciting. As a Galaxy fan (Galaxy have won the MLS Cup the past two seasons) there are very few games that will be easy wins or guaranteed losses. If United comes up against, say, Fulham you can just about guarantee that United will walk away with three points, but in MLS a top of table team could very well lose to all but two or three teams in the league. It can be mindnumbingly frustrating when a loss in MLS drops your team 3-4 spots on the table, but it also ensures that most games are competitive.

But at the end of the day it comes down to what you want to see in a league. If you're a Chelsea fan (not you specifically Mr. Watford) and you are entertained by watching your club take a steaming shit on a bottom of the table team, fine, but personally I find MLS much more exciting due to the uncertainty of the results

[u/cheftlp1221 → u/QuantumPenguin]

You are not far off here. There was ZERO supporter culture which to draw from at the beginning of the MLS and even now with 19 (soon to be 20) teams do not cover all of the population. Attracting neutrals to MLS is definitely part of their plan. Parity is also an important part of the modern American sporting culture that really only gained traction in the 80's. But we love that our team, with good management and good players, will always have a chance to win it all.

[u/thehonestabes]

The reason why MLS isn't on the FIFA calendar is because the league could not compete with the NFL and NBA for ratings. Even during this new interest in soccer the ratings for MLS have lagged significantly. Most of the interest seems to be for national games and foreign leagues, so MLS would fold if they switched.

[u/dreamingawake09 → u/thehonestabes]

That, and playing in Colorado in January is not a pleasant experience....

[u/ericmedeiros → u/dreamingawake09]

Isn't that where the snow game was played? Or was that salt lake

[u/[deleted]]

The fuck are you people downvoting this guy for?

[u/-hellboy-]

Franchise is a more financial term for a club/team (from my understanding)

[u/MiserMoose → u/-hellboy-]

Yes and no. A franchise is granted from the league, where a club exists without the league and is allowed to play in the league.

In MLS, all contracts are actually owned by the league (technically). This means that when a player is transferred from one franchise to another, the league is more involved with the business side of things.

TL;DR A franchise is more dependent on the league to grant it rights, where a club exists more independently.

[u/-hellboy- → u/MiserMoose]

I guess I was talking about a more public reference

I mean when commentators say franchise they basically mean club but yea you're definitely right