That the new owners of Real Salt Lake are bullish on Major League Soccer isn’t a surprise considering they paid more than a half-billion dollars for the team this past April.
But Miller Sports + Entertainment isn’t alone in that thinking. RSL’s original owner Dave Checketts sees big things on the horizon not only for the league but for the sport in the United States.
The Larry H. Miller family appears to have ventured into the game just as it’s about to have a global moment or two on American soil in the next few years. The U.S. will co-host the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2031, while the 2028 Olympics will be in Los Angeles. The U.S. will also host the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The men’s World Cup, spread across NFL stadiums in the largest media markets in the country over five weeks, is being billed as the largest sporting event in history.
At the same time, MLS continues to mature as a league. It’s more competitive. It increasingly attracts some of the world’s best players such as Lionel Messi — whose Inter Miami FC team is scheduled to play RSL in Utah next season — and Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC. A coming change to a summer-to-spring schedule and major adjustment to the league’s deal with Apple TV will put the beautiful game, as it’s called, in front of more American eyes than ever. Soccer is already the most played youth sport in America.
“It’s really a powerful convergence of this sport that’s on the rise, a league that’s on the rise,” said Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company. “All of that just continues to add more fuel to this incredible momentum.”
Growing fan base
Professional soccer in the U.S. is at a tipping point.
MLS was founded in 1996, two years after the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994. It has taken some years for the league to find its footing.
“It’s been a long and difficult history,” Checketts said. “But it is clearly a league on the rise now. I couldn’t be happier for the people of Utah because they love their soccer. They love their football. They love showing up for games and cheering for that team.”
The 2025 regular season ranked second-highest in total attendance in MLS history, with 11.2 million fans and average crowds of 21,988 per match. Total league attendance has increased 12% since 2022.
RSL came in just under the league average this season at 19,776 per game, down slightly from 2024 but a 1.8% increase over the past two years, according to Sports Business Journal.
Among the world’s top soccer leagues, MLS trails only the long-established English Premier League in total attendance.
“Maybe the headline here for me would be that we’re witnessing the transformation of Major League Soccer and we all can have a front-row seat to that,” Starks said.
Aligning U.S. soccer with the world
In what MLS commissioner Don Garber calls “one of the most important decisions in our history,” the league will adopt a summer-to-spring schedule in 2027, aligning itself with the rest of the professional soccer world.
He said the change will strengthen MLS clubs’ global competitiveness, create better opportunities in the transfer market and ensure the playoffs “take center stage without interruption.”
Having the playoffs in May rather than November will move soccer out of the long shadow of the NFL and college football, opening sponsorship opportunities that those sports suck up each fall. Aligning the season with leagues worldwide will also help MLS teams build their rosters and possibly pull top players to the U.S.
David Beckham had a great run with the LA Galaxy more than decade ago. But like other international players who have joined MLS teams, he was near the end of his career.
Checketts said he doesn’t think MLS will be able to attract those types of players in their prime, at least not right away.
“As it stands now, the competition and the way that the game is played in the Premier League is exceptional, but that has happened over 100 years. I do think MLS quality–wise, though, has come a long way,