G. Willow WilsonFeb 25, 2023
Well, #MLS fans? Soliciting your spiciest takes. This is a safe space. #mastodonfc
https://deadspin.com/mls-playoffs-soccer-apple-tv-streaming-lafc-union-1850141392
MLS doesn’t know what fans want

League alters its playoff format, once again, for the worse

Deadspin
Show threadAdam Gessaman Feb 25, 2023

@GWillow okay, so you asked: MLS is an oligopolistic investment vehicle for the 0.1%, not a true competitive league.

Their goal is to be juuust good enough to keep us coming to games and paying for merch and streaming subscriptions through forced parity. LAFC bucked the system and look what happened.

If they truly believed in both competition and capitalism, they'd implement a pro/rel system which would mean that every game mattered and the consequences at both ends of the table are very real.

Show threadMatthew NadlerFeb 25, 2023
@adam @GWillow
How about the teams in the middle that just plug along?
Other sports seem to do fine competitively without pro/rel. What makes soccer different?
Why should the ultimate goal of teams in lower divisions be to become an upper division teams punching bag?
Show threadAdam Gessaman Feb 26, 2023

@matthewmuses @GWillow
Good for those middle teams. This only impacts them if the overall level of play goes up and they don't improve with it.

It depends on how you evaluate competitiveness. In NFL, MLB, and NHL the salary cap helps enforce parity. It turns it into a performance per dollar calculation, a.k.a. Moneyball.

While there's relative parity in EPL due to the law of diminishing returns, the rest of the English league system you can see big returns on relatively small investments.

Show threadMatthew Nadler
@adam @GWillow are you suggesting that American professional sports wasn't competitive before the introduction of salary caps? That's not how I remember it. Perhaps the thing that drives athletes and teams to succeed is that they're naturally competitive.
Feb 26, 2023 at 3:49amWeb
Show threadAdam Gessaman Feb 26, 2023

@matthewmuses @GWillow oh no. The players were certainly competitive. Pre salary cap, a team had the opportunity to gather as much talent as the owner could afford. It’s obvious how this can impact parity.

The cap protects owners’ investment by narrowing the upper bounds on the amount of talent teams can accumulate. You see this almost every year as free agency dismantles the teams that make it to the Super Bowl.

(A possible solution: cap payroll at a % of club income, not flat for all clubs.)