There has never arguably been a more important time for Major League Soccer as the domestic league looks to take the next step towards truly competing on a regional and global level.
MLS is hoping to take advantage of the extraordinary interest and ratings for the 2026 World Cup in North America this summer. That is going to be followed by a half-season sprint in the first half of 2027 to set the stage for finally converting the league to the standard August-May schedule used by the top European leagues and others around the world. And if that wasn’t enough, LAFC co-owner Larry Berg has just been named as the new commissioner in succeeding Don Garber.
Now the league is looking at taking on its ever-changing playoff format.
MLS has always been in an awkward position as one of the very few soccer leagues around the world to decide their champion in the American style of playoffs. However, the playoffs have come at a time when Americans are largely focused on football in November and December, leading to a challenge in drawing casual fans and hitting big numbers.
The move to end the season in May will at least avoid that competition and hit when the NBA and NHL are in the middle stages of their own playoff journeys. And it will also bring about an opportunity for change and devising a system that can please both fans and current or future broadcast partners.
The current format isn’t one that has been widely embraced by the fanbase, with a best-of-three opening round series followed by a straight knockout tournament. 18 teams currently qualify for the postseason with the eighth and ninth seeds in each conference contesting a play-in game before the conference quarterfinals series.
According to The Guardian, MLS could expand the playoff field even more with its new idea. And fans might be skeptical as the idea currently being tossed around sounds even more complicated than the current system.
The Guardian has viewed a potential schedule for the new format, in which the playoffs start in late April and unfold over roughly three weeks with MLS Cup being played on Sunday 21 May 2028. The changes to the playoff format would pair with long-reported changes to MLS’s regular season, with the league going to a five-division setup in place of its current Eastern and Western Conference structure.
Notably, the 20 potential spots wouldn’t necessarily be evenly distributed among the league’s divisions; instead, all teams would be combined into a single table at season’s end, with the overall 20 best teams advancing to the postseason. Eight of those 20 teams would take part in a play-in round, with four advancing to create a final field of 16 teams.
The top eight teams in the combined table would play in a double-elimination round, a move that seems aimed at further incentivizing the league’s regular season matches. A win in that initial round would see a team through directly to the quarter-finals. Teams, sources said, would be re-seeded after each round, ensuring that higher-seeded teams are offered a competitive and hosting advantage throughout the playoffs.
Notably, Major League Soccer has reportedly consulted with the Australian Football League, which has used a “double-chance” reward for its top finishing teams for a number of years. The AFL just recently expanded their playoff format this year with teams finishing seventh through tenth contesting a play-in round. The winners of those games play the fifth and sixth seeds. Teams finishing first through fourth play each other for the right to advance directly to the semifinals, while the losers get a second chance against the 5/6 vs play-in winner games.
It sounds confusing, but it is actually a great system if you want to truly give a regular season reward for teams that finish at the very top of the standings. That has been a strong critique of the MLS format, especially when regular season performance matters so much in soccer. The downside is that with 20 teams making the playoffs, it would feel especially bloated and complicated.
What may be most important, though, is the reaction of television networks. MLS and Apple agreed to cut their deal short as it is now set to expire after the 2028-2029 season, the second in the new schedule. More playoff inventory against less competition is going to help the league when it comes to those negotiations, whether they decide to stick with Apple or value more exposure.
MLS has ambitious goals for what they are hoping to get in its next television deals that can potentially boost revenues and deliver that next level jump that has been elusive in recent years. And they are hoping that a more exciting, rewarding, robust playoff system can help them make the case that it is worth the investment.
About Matt Yoder