NASL cries foul on proposed new USSF Division 1 mandates

Both Buffalo and Nashville have regional TV viewing market outside of their MSA for their pro clubs which bring them up over the 2 million+ mark.

But the thing is, population isn't the be all end all. It's the corporate base a region has that makes clubs the most money. It's the equation "(population - converted customer) + corporate wealth = potential growth revenue" that MLS are interested in.

Even in Garber's presser in Minnesota. He's not talking about the 5-10k who attend games. He's talking about the future potential of more eyes (millennials, immigrants) on the product and the corporate strength of the Minnesota metro market.

It's about the money for Garber and MLS.

But NASL fans need to get off their high horse. It's always been about the money for their league and owners too. They're just on the wrong side of the fence to their liking.

 

Looking at it from another perspective, do you think it's possible that the USSF will specifically chose the >2 million threshold as a means to limit and cap MLS expansion in order to allow NASL and USL to expand into the untapped markets? As has been said, the actual population of a city is pretty meaningless if it has shown it can support teams with stable finances.

 

Cosmos chief says U.S. Soccer, MLS are trying to 'move the goal' on NASL

 

Keep it classy, Cosmos!

"Our lawyer is as good as they come and he doesn't take cases he thinks he has a chance of losing," Stover said. "Kessler beat the NFL with the Tom Brady Deflategate thing -- and not a little bit -- he whipped their ass!"

 

He fails to mention that the last time Kessler sued MLS he lost, but Stover's not the best guy to listen to if you want to hear something truthful.

 

Again with this? It would be nice change when someone claims this they could show some proof it's happening. But no.

 

Stover's the guy that said the Traffic corruption story from the NYT was planted by MLS\USSF, and then turned around and apologized for saying that on twitter and that the Times story was "fair and balanced". So yeah find the biggest grain of salt you can before you listen to him.

 

I'd like to give some illustrative examples of whats going on here.

Scottish primer league team loans players out to MLS. Is SPL now a reserve league/affiliate to or of MLS?
^- Ridiculous but lets sue them regardless!

Green Bay Packers & Winnipeg Jets make us rethink market analysis of professional sports profitability?
^- Lets sue the MSA's of LA, Chicago & NYC for letting us down! Saturation be damned.

Someone else gets lucky by putting a team in a market that turns out to be an outlier and exception to the rules at hand?
^- How dare you! You're sued! We thought of that first!

Donald Trump tactics before his league folded under the pressure of the NFL?
^- Traffic Sports in action before the fall...

NB Please do not sue me Donald, I love your book, this was for educational purposes only...

In all seriousness, if NASL wants to be relevant as a league it should focus on becoming the league for North America as a continent. Leave USSF behind and create your own federation that sanctions the continent. One profitable team in DR, Cuba, or Trinidad can compose 50%+ of their respective nations national teams and still be d2 maybe d3 in ussf criteria so why complain?

If you can't compete with MLS become something they're not and own true to your own name... Be continental.

 

^Totally agree with the sentiment - NASL needs to focus on the best Caribbean markets and use them to fill up the international slots once the Canadian teams leave to form their own league.

 

Do all first-division dreams go through MLS?

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/featu...ion-us-soccer-indy-eleven#Zs50Jb4sz63j6mCd.99

 

That is an understatement Wilt.

It may take a while for the TV money.

And this is very important.

 

I don't see how Hankinson can claim that the NASL is five years behind the MLS with a straight face.

In what metrics is 2016 NASL even within sniffing distance of 2011 MLS?

 

It's not even close. Realistically they're 10+ years behind MLS.

 

I've been watching MLS since 1996.

The NASL is basically 1996 MLS, minus the few oddball (big money) stars. And minus anything like the early DC United. That team could compete in MLS even today.

And as for off-the-field stuff, they're not even 1996 MLS level.

 

And that assumes MLS does not continue to improve on and off the field.

 

"Hankinson believes NASL teams could compete in the middle of the pack with MLS clubs, in the short term . . ."

I want some of whatever he's smoking.

 

It is the same garbage that has been repeated since the old A-League.

What makes Hankinson look even dumber was that in 2011, MLS signed their TV deal with NBC for $10 million a year for 3 years. That was in addition of their current SUM deal with ESPN that paid them $8.5 mil a year. Can Hankinson point where the NASL is getting that type of money from any TV deal in 2016 or even the next few years? I would like to ask him that question and then ask if he would still stand by his ridiculous statement. Please show me where your revenue streams are coming from.

It is not even worth reading these articles. I can bring up old Francisco Marcos stuff, where first the old A-League and later USL, were going to challenge MLS. How did that work out? And it is not going to happen with the NASL either. 5 years from now, we will be wondering what happened to the NASL.

 

Honestly, I think you can make a solid case that it would be a smart move for the NASL to consolidate at D3.

 

What difference would D3 vs D2 be?

 

Eight team minimum, no need to chase the timezone requirement, and lower minimum stadium size.

Only tangible loss is entering the USOC a round earlier.

 

Not to mention that for D2 the principal team owners must have an individual net worth of $20 million, for D3 this is probably a lot less

 

The info on Kenn's site said $10mil for D3. I left that out as theoretically they'd still want to pursue wealthy owners. I really think it's the 16 team and time zone requirements that are part of what's driving the league's incoherence.

 

I agree with that, but I don't think going down to D3 would change their desires to meet those requirements.

 

You hear this a lot when people compare leagues, like say MLS would compete in the middle of the pack with EPL clubs, or Liga MX would compete middle pack of La Liga (actually below the top 3 perhaps the best MX team in a good year may stay mid table).