Dr GarberLove, Or: How MLS owners learned to stop worrying and love the Euro calendar

Like a well-crafted Spotify playlist, MLS and Apple dealt out BANGER after BANGER after BANGER of seismic breaking news blasts this past week, drastically changing the soccer landscape in America.

• First, the official news came last Thursday that MLS will adopt a July-to-May schedule in 2027, which mirrors the schedules of most European leagues and transfer windows.
• Second, a “transition season” will be held in Spring 2027 to keep competition going through the dead period before the schedule shift. This partial season will count officially in MLS annals for qualification for Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, and the official 2027 MLS Cup Champion (no asterisk needed).
• Plus, RIP to the Eastern and Western conferences. In 2026, MLS will switch to a single-table competition for the yearly Supporters’ Shield, with the league’s 30 teams broken into five regionally aligned divisions that respect local rivalries. Teams would play division opponents twice each season (10 matches), and all other teams once (24 matches), alternating home-and-away every year.
• And, Apple TV will be ending MLS Season Pass, and allowing ALL Apple TV subscribers to watch MLS for free with their subscriptions, along with MLB baseball and the newly-acquired rights to Formula 1 racing.
• Finally, for the locals, you have New York City FC in the final eight teams for the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs set, with City the only upset victors in the bedeviled Best-of-3 round. (Thanks, Nico!) They will play (checks watch) this coming weekend, thanks to an awkwardly-positioned FIFA International play window that did no favors to Alonso Martínez, who reportedly tore his anterior cruciate ligament on a sub-standard field in Curaçao.

Catch your breath, everyone! These revelations substantially change the way MLS supporters and casual fans attend and consume the league’s matches moving forward. 

Let’s break them down one by one…

Playing With House Money: NYCFC are ahead no matter what happens in Philly

New York City FC under Pascal Jansen exceeded all expectations: Does that give them a degree of freedom as they get ready for the toughest fixture this year when they face Philadelphia Union in the Conference Semis?

Hudson River BlueJohn Baney

1. Mark(et) your calendars!

“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cold out there!” 
– Radio DJ, “Groundhog Day” (1993)

With Thursday’s vote, Major League Soccer will no longer own the summer soccer landscape in 2027. It’s moving to match the European leagues’ competition calendars, with the same transfer windows and FIFA international breaks, which should make MLS a far more attractive destination for some of the world's more promising transfer targets — and for big names looking to finish their careers on American soil.

Of course, we still don't know what the new salary cap rules will be. That likely comes after the CBA deal with the players' union is renegotiated.

And yes, with the foray into winter means fighting the frigid weather that could negatively affect northern teams’ matches from November to February, when most of the MLS teams were previously inactive – and this thought of watching MLS playing more possible sub-zero December and February matches left many league supporters cold...so to speak.

The recent viral video of the Canadian Premier League championship in a blizzard helped fuel the immediate negative reaction and worst fears...

That fear is understandable. While the cold and snow affect match play on the field, it could have a more drastic effect on match attendance, as casual fans choose to watch from warmer places – like from their couches, with hot cocoa in hand and hot wings on the TV tray.

Actually, don't mix those two together...bad idea.

But, MLS has already noted that 90% of the new schedule covered the playing period of the old schedule, and a planned eight-week winter break from mid-December to mid-February will help dodge the worst weather conditions for northern cities. That winter break puts us about where the MLS season starts today, with the occasional snow game played every year or so.

Personally, I've always preferred cold-weather games to blazing hot summer mid-day matches. It's far easier to bundle up for cold than get scorched by the blazing summer sun — which is part of the reason why MLS moved to Saturday scheduling in nighttime blocks.

MLS should go a step further in the calendar by smartly sending those northern teams to play in warmer cities or domed stadiums from Thanksgiving through mid-March. By booking two or three road matches on either side of the winter break to dodge the snow, MLS could help avoid blizzard-bound calamities.

But, as Chris Ivey at Nashville's 615Soccer points out, some colder cities will have to host some matches. They can't all play in the Southern or Western cities.

But then again, having all teams host at least one match in December allows for all sorts of holiday-related local promotions at the stadium, including cozy party tailgates for supporter groups, light displays, a winter village or carnival outside the park, ugly sweater contests, visits with Santa for the patrons, gift giveaways, charity gift and coat drives — the list goes on. Lots of possibilities for winter fun at the stadium for one match a year!

There's also the possibility of Northern cities making investments in their stadiums to combat the cold, adding roofs to give their owned facilities year-round usage. For example, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs might retrofit their Arrowhead Field with a retractable roof, much like Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt uses in Germany. Many MLS clubs knew this schedule shift was inevitable, so don't be surprised if all upcoming stadium builds or renovation projects have full or near-full coverage provided for their seating.

But the winter weather isn't the big fear for many griping about the schedule change — it's the battle for viewers vs the NFL and college football, plus the NHL and NBA in late fall. MLS previously OWNED the summer window, competing only against baseball.

Now, MLS has to figure out how to fight for eyeballs and sponsorship dollars in November and December against gridiron giants, and also prevent going "out of sight, out of mind" during the proposed winter break.

No worries, they have 18 months to figure it out. They got this, right?

2. Conference cull

One big, massive table of 30 teams chasing the Supporters' Shield: That’s what’s coming for next season’s MLS competition.

With the league divided into five divisions of six teams (and presumably the division winners guaranteed placement in MLS Cup Playoffs), it means…

1. You’ll see every team at least once per season. So, no more long two- or three-year absences between regular-season matchups.
2. You only get to see superstar players outside your division ONCE every two seasons. So, no more annual “Messi Game” vs Inter Miami guaranteed for season-ticket holders (and resellers). 

3. Will NYCFC park the 'Park' plans?

One annoying detail still to flesh itself out is the 14-game "Transition Season” alluded to by the league, which reportedly will be a mini-season in Spring 2027 to tide us over until the big July 2027 launch of the new calendar. The mini-season will have its own MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup Final as well to determine the year's MLS Champion.

Likely, for a 14-game season, you'd play 10 games home-away vs your division opponents, then split the four remaining games between the four other divisions.

Then, the five division winners get top seeds for MLS Cup Playoffs, as the MLS Cup opens to EVERYONE in a knockout format to start, either a home-and-away two-leg series or best-of-three at the Round of 16 level.

For NYCFC supporters, the transition season means more for us, as our brand-new soccer palace in Queens, Etihad Park, is scheduled to open that Spring. 

It’ll be interesting to see if New York City FC delays Etihad Park’s opening until July 2027, to coincide with the new MLS calendar, especially if additional work is needed to change EP's stadium elements to possibly host winter matches — like winterizing pipes and concession stands to prevent freeze-ups, upgrading under-pitch heating, adding warming stations on the concourse, etc.

Brad Sims, the phone lines are open if you’d like to update us.

But electric handwarmers, or team-issued parka jackets, wouldn’t be bad season-ticket holder gifts for 2026 and 2027...and about 20 propane-fired patio heaters for that Supporters Porch area as well. Just saying.

A peek inside the Etihad Park construction site in Queens

We take a look at the active construction site that Etihad Park is now, and compare it to what the stadium will look like when it opens in 2027. Has video, slideshow.

Hudson River BlueOliver Strand

4. You shall not 'Pass!'

Finally, the MLS Season Pass package on Apple TV is no more. And that move is LONG overdue.

When the league announced that the MLS Cup Playoffs would be given away free to Apple TV subscribers, many commented that Apple was making the right decision to let the world in to watch Lionel Messi and the league’s superstars duel in the league’s unique playoff system.

The Season Pass model had its moment in the sun. Now, the model doesn’t work anymore.

As holders of MLB game rights, plus their new Formula 1 deal – all without an extra buy-in “pass” model – Apple needs more viewers to see the ads during matches, to make MLS sponsorship deals more lucrative, and to make matches more appealing to the casual viewer.

Foregoing the firewall will be best for everyone as MLS continues through their revised media rights deal, which now ends in 2029, 3.5 years earlier than planned.

Early reports from MLS stakeholders on the Season Pass elimination are positive. Sports Business Journal reports Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson "expects the league viewership to double in 2026" with these changes.

Hopefully, Apple TV will continue to invest in improving their MLS offerings, in-game broadcast technologies and quality, announcing talent, and their MLS 360 nightly show.  It will also be very interesting to see how Apple TV and MLS approach the “Saturday Night Soccer” model they pursued the last two seasons. Will the dropped firewall lead to a more diverse schedule pattern, putting more matches in Saturday or Sunday afternoon windows, allowing for more live viewership by the league’s most dedicated viewers?  

Plus, don't forget, "Ted Lasso" is likely to return to Apple TV in late 2026, which may have positive effects for casual soccer fans seeking in-game action on the platform.

And with the gates open to new fans, will the league invest in building up its media machine to entice casuals into becoming frequent MLS watchers? I bemoaned the loss earlier this season of the MLS-produced “ExtraTime” podcast, which was essential listening for the MLS universe.

Local soccer media (such as this fine publication) does great, but it's just not enough. MLS needs to reinvest in providing products that keep the fans informed, create community, and reward them for their patronage.

And also, MLS needs to avoid using artificial intelligence (AI) to write its match summaries. A human perspective or narrative adds so much more to that content than a bleep-bloop robot mind parsing a box score.

Lingering Questions...

Still, there are a few questions remaining to be answered about the the new schedule, and how it affects soccer in America.

1) How will MLS Next Pro operate? Since not all the teams are club-owned, will they try to continue on a Spring-to-Fall schedule?

2) How will US Open Cup work with the new schedule? A schedule change is likely in order to avoid the new MLS summer offseason.

3) Is Leagues Cup dead now? Or will it become a winter-break showcase tournament for MLS and LigaMX, held in warm-weather cities? It would be a smart idea to have six to eight cities host pods of teams for group-stage matches in December-February, and then have two host cities in Florida or California host the knockout rounds. This is one way MLS can keep the sporting world's attention during the season break.

4) How will MLS adjust the salary rules and caps for the upcoming transition season and new calendar? Will new DP slots be created? Will the cap rise 50%? 100%? Will TAM$ and GAM$ still be in play? Will the cap be eliminated altogether for a luxury-tax "soft cap" system (NBA-style)?

Ultimately, could this all be the gateway to a two-tiered promotion/relegation system inside the MLS brand if the league rapidly expands due to a new influx of popularity?

The argument for promotion and relegation in MLS

Here’s how the league can make the transition to pro/rel, and why it’s good for all stakeholders.

Hudson River BlueCorey Clayton

Freedom in Philly

There’s a lot to think about now that MLS is moving forward with all these big changes. But, short term, there’s only one thing on the locals' minds – beating the Philadelphia Union in their house to advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in club history.

I’ll leave the analysis to the boys on the Hudson River Blue podcast, who broke down the semifinal matchup on November 23, and how City can overcome the loss of Andrea Perea to injury, and Aiden O’Neill to his trio of yellow cards in the quarterfinal series. 

Add to that the loss of star striker Alonso Martínez, first announced in these pages last night. He reportedly will be out until late next season with an ACL tear suffered in World Cup qualifying for Costa Rica — which will make NYCFC's task in Chester, PA, far more difficult.

Until then, I’m shopping for some warmer jackets — we’re going to NEED them in 2027. Maybe even sooner. (Fingers crossed.)

Corey Clayton, a Founding Member season-ticket holder for New York City FC and The Third Rail, is a part-time soccer columnist and a full-time social media executive in NYC.