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Incoming MLS commissioner Larry Berg has dismissed any chance of promotion and relegation entering the league in the near term as he prepares to succeed longtime commissioner Don Garber this January.
Despite pressure from dedicated soccer supporters to adopt the system widely used across Europe's elite competitions, Berg doesn't view it as a viable path forward for MLS anytime soon. No other league in the U.S. or Canada operates with promotion and relegation, and even Mexico's Liga MX has put the concept on hold.
"I can understand the appeal for the fans, [but] I don't think it's a great way to build a league. I don't think it's a way to get stadiums built, get training facilities built, and to have owners invest in rosters and all the other things you need to do," Berg told reporters at an introductory press conference in New York City.
"So the great thing about promotion and relegation for fans is that the jeopardy is quite severe. But I think there are other ways to create jeopardy during the regular season, [and] again in the playoffs, during the playoffs, to get to the next round. That's what we want to focus on."
MLS Structure and the U.S. Sporting Landscape
Unlike European competitions, MLS will continue staging the MLS Cup playoffs annually, staying true to the North American tradition of crowning a yearly league champion. Meanwhile, clubs will compete across additional tournaments, including the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup, and Canadian Championship, spanning all 30 franchises.
As a league model, MLS differs significantly from its European equivalents. Built on a single-entity framework, where club owners function as investor-operators and player contracts are held by the league rather than individual teams, implementing promotion and relegation would require a complete structural overhaul.
The single-entity model was designed to make MLS an attractive investment for owners whose clubs might not independently generate sufficient revenue, and it has remained central to the league's sustained growth and financial stability, especially when compared to previously failed U.S. professional soccer ventures.
Any structural changes within MLS would require approval from both team owners and the MLS Players Association. Given the substantial expansion fees many paid to join the league—including San Diego FC's record $500 million fee in 2023—owners would be unlikely to support a system that could diminish franchise values through relegation.
Unlike in Europe, MLS must compete for attention alongside other major sports, and a portion of fans would likely shift their focus elsewhere if their club faced the threat of relegation.
"I don't think it's appropriate for our league," Berg said. "I think [outgoing commissioner] Don Garber has said before, 'never say never,' but I just don't see it happening anytime soon."
Promotion/Relegation Coming to U.S. Soccer
While MLS has no plans to adopt promotion and relegation, the system is set to arrive in the United States through the United Soccer League, which aims to introduce it as early as 2028, with a three-tier pyramid structure and a summer-based schedule.
The USL is pursuing U.S. Soccer Division I status for its new USL Premier, which would place it on equal footing with MLS. Operating without a single-entity structure, its promotion/relegation system will facilitate movement between the top-tier USL Premier, second-tier USL Championship, and third-tier USL League One, with each club bearing the financial responsibilities associated with competing at every level.
Serving smaller markets and rarely overlapping with MLS territories, the USL has cultivated a devoted fanbase across all three tiers in the U.S., with even its semi-professional USL League 2—a brief summer competition—drawing strong community support.
MLS will undoubtedly monitor how promotion and relegation develops within the USL. But as both Garber and Berg have indicated, ruling it out entirely for MLS would be premature—though any realistic expectation of it arriving in the near future remains far-fetched.