If USL Division One Succeeds, History Suggests MLS Merger Will Follow

On Thursday morning, United Soccer Leagues – the largest operator of second- and third-division pro soccer in the United States – announced its intention to launch a competition that would receive Division 1 sanctioning from the U.S. Soccer Federation.

If successful, the result would be a new league of at least 12 teams that would come into direct competition with Major League Soccer for talent, fans and recognition from Concacaf in terms of awarding continental tournament berths.

Having two top flights would not completely unprecedented in the history of global pro club soccer. For example, until the 1970s, Brazil’s primary and most prestigious club competitions were its regional state leagues before the national Serie A was launched.

And there’s a long way to go for the USL tho make its intentions a reality by 2027 or 2028 as it intends. The most-recent previous effort to compete directly with MLS failed when the NASL failed in its bid to ascend from second- to first-division status, folded in 2017 and then brought an anti-trust lawsuit against MLS and the USSF. (The jury found in favor of MLS and the USSF earlier this month.)

So there’s a lot of conditionals at play. But if American pro sports history is any indication, there is room for the USL to grow into soccer’s version of American League Baseball or the American Football League. And if it does, history suggests a merger with MLS will eventually follow.

Here’s a look back at how previous mergers unfolded in North America’s other major men’s sports leagues.

Baseball

The National League (1876)

The NL was America’s first pro sports league as we think of it, founded in 1876 with eight teams that played a scheduled season of 70 games. It encountered multiple challenges to its supremacy for the first 25 years of its existence, but none formidable enough to make a lasting dent. By 1900, the NL’s eight teams were playing around 140 games a season.

The American League (1901)

The AL immediately became the NL’s most formidable competitor when it launched with very similar competitive structure, with the same number of teams and a similar number of games. The AL even had three of its ballclubs in the same markets as NL teams – Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. (New York already had two NL teams).

The Mergers (1903, 2000)

It didn’t take long for the two leagues to begin cooperation, entering into the National Agreement that solidified the leagues’ status as “Major League Baseball” in 1903. The first World Series was played that October. However, the two leagues operated as independent entities until an official business merger in 2000. Their teams did not begin competing in the regular season until Interleague Play was introduced in 1997.

Football

The National Football League (1920)

The NFL considers its founding date as 1920 (as the American Professional Football Association), with the league renamed the NFL in 2022. But for much of its early existence, the league languished far behind Baseball, Horse Racing and Boxing, not to mention college football – seen as more important in many parts of the country. That tide began turning with the advent of television and sports on TV.

The American Football League (1959)

In what could potentially become a parallel to the USL Division One, the AFL was founded in 1959 by owners that were denied NFL expansion rights, and began competition in 1960. The AFL began with eight teams and competed directly with NFL franchises in two markets – New York and Los Angeles. Unlike the old AL, the AFL’s teams were concentrated primarily in the Northeast or west of the Mississippi.

The Merger (1966)

After six seasons of direct but separate competition, league owners reached an agreement that set into motion a gradual merger between the two leagues. From 1996 through 1969, the NFL and AFL played separat regular seasons but contested an interleague championship game – which became the Super Bowl. The leagues merged more fully in 1970, with the NFC and AFC conferences based roughly on the structure of the old NFL and AFL. Old NFL teams the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers moved to the AFC to help smooth out the move.

Basketball

The National Basketball Association (1946, 1949)

The NBA’s launch was actually the result of a previous merger, and its early years consisted of heavy contraction, from 17 teams at its launch down to as few as eight for the 1954-1955 season. By 1968, it had grown back to a healthy 14 teams.

The American Basketball Association (1967)

The ABA launched with 11 teams of its own, and the result was a bidding war for some of the game’s elite young talent. Stars who chose the ABA included Julis Irving and Moses Malone. The league also created the first slam dunk competition, and preserved the experimental 3-point shot that would later make its way into the NBA rulebook.

The Merger (1976)

The ABA steadily dwindled in size over its decade of independence, and when it finally merged into the NBA, the result was the NBA’s absorption of four teams into its already-existing competitive structure: The Spurs, Nets, Nuggets and Pacers.

Hockey

The National Hockey League (1917)

Hockey purists still talk with fondness about the “original six” of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leads, Boston Bruins, New York Randers, Detroit Redwings and Chicago Blackhawks. But the league was actually founded as an all-Canadian competition, with the first American team – Boston – not joining until the 1925-26 season. The true Original Six era began amid financial challenges brought on by World War II and ran through the mid-1960s.

The World Hockey Association (1971)

The NHL had expanded beyond Original Six territory before the WHA launched. But the WHA still had plenty of major American and mid-tier Canadian cities to target in its bid to rival the senior circuit. However, it dealt with chronic instability and had only six permanent teams remaining by the end of the 1978-79 season.

The Merger (1979)

After originally refusing a merger in 1977, NHL owners agreed to take in four of the surviving six AHL teams following the 1978-79 season: The Boston Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers.