Project 14 and 26 - Soccer - Developing Leagues Around the World

[PWC2017]

Chapter 35: Protecting the Foundations​

The MLS Originals and the Price of Stability (2022 – 2023)

The announcement of the pyramid answered one question publicly.

Privately, it raised another far more dangerous one.

What happens to the clubs that built the league?

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The Reality of the MLS Originals​

By 2022, Major League Soccer was no longer an experiment. It was a functioning, valuable league built by owners who had absorbed losses, skepticism, and ridicule during the sport’s leanest years.

These clubs—later referred to internally as the MLS Originals—had:

• Paid expansion fees without safety nets
• Built stadiums when football wasn’t fashionable
• Carried the league through its most fragile years

To ignore that history would have doomed Project 26 instantly.

Manson knew it.

The Franchise Dilemma​

Promotion and relegation worked everywhere else because clubs entered the system knowing the risk.

MLS Originals had not.

They had bought into a franchise model—one that promised permanence, asset security, and protection from sporting collapse.

Asking them to accept relegation without safeguards would have been political suicide.

So Manson didn’t.

The Parachute Principle​

In late 2022, a framework was quietly agreed.

If an MLS Original were relegated from the MLS Super League, the following protections would apply:

• Parachute Payments over multiple seasons
• Full Super League TV revenue share, regardless of division
• Priority consideration in scheduling, commercial exposure, and marketing support

Relegation would be sporting.

Not existential.

Why It Worked​

The brilliance of the system was in what it didn’t do.

It didn’t guarantee return.
It didn’t block competition.
It didn’t undermine merit.

But it acknowledged reality.

MLS Originals would compete on the field like everyone else—but their historical investment would not be erased by one bad season.

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A Quiet Compromise​

The arrangement was never marketed loudly.

There were no press releases.

Publicly, the system was fair and open.

Privately, it was carefully weighted to prevent collapse.

Some critics called it protectionism.

Manson called it survival.

The Unspoken Agreement​

The deal created an unspoken understanding:

• MLS Originals would not sabotage the pyramid
• In return, the pyramid would not destroy them

It was enough.

Not everyone was happy.

But enough people were calm.

Stability Before Ideology​

Project 26 was not about purity.

It was about permanence.

The Originals had paid the price to get football this far.

The system would not ask them to pay it twice.

The Door Remains Open​

What mattered most to Manson wasn’t the compensation.

It was the precedent.

Football in North America could evolve without pretending its past didn’t exist.

That single compromise may have saved the entire project.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 36: The Long Conversations​

Identity, Geography, and Uncomfortable Truths (2018 – 2021)

Long before Project 26 had a name, before announcements or timelines, Manson was already working on the least glamorous part of reform.

He called it preparation.

Others called it interference.

Learning From Hong Kong​

By 2018, Manson had already lived through the consequences of weak club identity in Hong Kong. Sponsored names. Temporary homes. Teams that existed on paper but not in communities.

North America, he realised, suffered from the same problem—just on a larger scale.

If the sport was ever going to mature, it had to start with belonging.

Regional Clubs in a City Game​

In quiet conversations with league executives and owners, Manson raised an uncomfortable issue.

Some clubs did not represent cities.

They represented maps.

• Colorado Rapids
• New England Revolution
• Minnesota United

They were not clubs people could locate emotionally. They belonged everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The argument wasn’t cosmetic.

It was structural.

Football clubs, he insisted, must represent a place you can point to.

Sponsored Identities and the Red Line​

Another issue followed naturally.

Sponsored team names.

Manson had seen how fragile these identities were. The sponsor changed, and the club’s name changed with it. Continuity disappeared.

The most obvious example was New York Red Bulls.

In private, Manson was clear:

Sponsors can fund clubs.
They cannot be the club.

No immediate bans were imposed.

But a direction was set—future licensing would require permanent, non-corporate identities.

Stadiums That Weren’t Where the Fans Lived​

The conversations deepened.

By 2019, Manson began raising concerns about stadium geography.

Several MLS clubs played far from the urban cores they claimed to represent:

• Philadelphia Union
• New England Revolution
• Chicago Fire (amid repeated moves)
• Colorado Rapids
• Real Salt Lake

From his perspective, this wasn’t just inconvenient.

It was limiting growth.

Urban connection created culture.
Culture created loyalty.
Loyalty created sustainability.

No Mandates—Yet​

Crucially, Manson did not issue ultimatums.

Between 2018 and 2021, his approach was conversational, not regulatory.

He framed the issue as a question:

Where does your club belong in 10 years?

Owners were encouraged to think ahead—to land acquisition, downtown redevelopment, long-term leases.

Some listened carefully.

Others bristled.

Weekly Work, Quietly Done​

Throughout this period, Manson was in constant dialogue with:

• Don Garber
• Club ownership groups
• City planners and stadium developers

There were no press releases.

No policy documents.

Just persistent repetition of the same ideas.

Planting the Seeds​

By 2021, nothing had changed publicly.

But privately, almost everything had.

Owners had begun feasibility studies.
Rebrand conversations had started.
Urban stadium concepts were being drawn quietly.

The resistance hadn’t disappeared.

But the denial had.

The Uncomfortable Truth​

Manson knew the criticism that followed him.

That he was trying to Europeanise American sport.

That he didn’t understand the franchise model.

He ignored it.

Because this work was never about ideology.

It was about making sure the foundations wouldn’t crack when pressure arrived.

Before the Storm​

When Project 26 finally emerged into the open in 2022, many owners acted as if the demands were sudden.

They weren’t.

They had been warned for years.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 37: The First Dominoes​

Rebrands, Relocations, and the End of Resistance (2022)

By the start of 2022, the conversations that had stretched quietly across four years finally reached their moment of truth.

Some clubs resisted until the last possible second.

Others moved first—understanding that adaptation was no longer optional.

What followed was the clearest signal yet that Project 26 was no longer theoretical.

The dominoes began to fall.

New Jersey MetroStars: The Line Is Crossed​

The most symbolic change came first.

In early 2022, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment completed the buyout of Red Bull’s stake in the New York club. The decision was swift, decisive, and deeply intentional.

The club was renamed:

New Jersey MetroStars

The return of the MetroStars identity was more than nostalgia. It was a declaration—corporate naming had no future in the new system.

For Manson, it was the clearest confirmation yet that owners were willing to act, not just listen.

Minnesota Becomes Minneapolis​

Soon after, Minnesota United followed.

The club acknowledged what had been quietly discussed for years: the identity was too broad, too detached.

The new name was simple, grounded, and unmistakable:

Minneapolis United

The shift signaled a deeper commitment to city identity and urban culture—one that aligned naturally with licensing expectations moving forward.

Denver Steps Forward​

The Colorado Rapids decision marked a turning point.

Rather than resist, ownership leaned into the future.

The club was rebranded as:

Denver Rapids

Simultaneously, plans were unveiled for a new downtown stadium, designed to reconnect the club with the city itself. The message was unmistakable: Denver was no longer a peripheral presence in its own market.

Boston Reclaims Its Place​

Perhaps the most politically delicate transformation came in New England.

The New England Revolution—long defined by geography rather than identity—were reintroduced as:

Boston Pride

The rebrand was paired with the announcement of a new 24,000-seat stadium in Everett, finally anchoring top-level football within Greater Boston.

It was a decisive break from the past and one of the most important symbolic wins of the year.

Salt Lake City Saints​

In Utah, the approach was cultural rather than cosmetic.

Real Salt Lake became:

Salt Lake City Saints

The rebrand embraced local identity, history, and values—recognising the region’s cultural makeup rather than obscuring it.

Alongside the announcement came confirmation of a new downtown stadium at Fairpark Station, designed to integrate the club into the city’s future development.

Philadelphia and Chicago Follow​

Two long-running stadium sagas finally found clarity.

• Philadelphia confirmed plans for a new downtown stadium in South Philadelphia, ending years of suburban isolation.
• Chicago announced a long-awaited return to the city core, with a new stadium planned on land at The 78—a project that had stalled for years before finally aligning with the new league vision.

The Shift Becomes Real​

None of these changes happened by accident.

Each announcement followed years of pressure, dialogue, and quiet preparation. Some owners moved reluctantly. Others embraced the moment.

But collectively, they sent a clear signal.

The era of temporary solutions was over.

Manson Watches It Unfold​

For Manson, 2022 was not about celebration.

It was about confirmation.

The clubs most likely to resist had acted first.

Not because they were forced.

But because they understood the direction of travel.

The Message to Everyone Else​

If these clubs could change—
if history, branding, and infrastructure could be reimagined—
then no one could claim exemption.

Project 26 was no longer a future problem.

It was the present.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 38: The State of Play​

North American Football at a Crossroads (2022)

By the summer of 2022, North American football sat in a position it had never occupied before—caught between what it had been and what it was about to become.

The announcement of the MLS–NASL pyramid was still weeks away, but the ecosystem beneath it was already shifting. Growth was no longer abstract. It was visible, measurable, and—most importantly—uneven.

For Matthew Manson, 2022 was not a year of strategy papers or press conferences.

It was a year of constant conversation.

The USL: Stronger Than Ever, Still Constrained​

The United Soccer League entered 2022 in its strongest position to date.

• USL Championship had stabilised as a credible national second tier.
• USL League One continued expanding into mid-sized markets.
• USL League Two was thriving as a development and summer competition.

Clubs were better run, better supported, and more deeply embedded in their communities than ever before.

Yet the ceiling remained painfully clear.

Without access to the top division, ambition stalled. Investment hesitated. Long-term infrastructure projects were harder to justify when promotion was impossible.

USL leadership understood this reality.

Privately, many owners saw Project 26 not as a threat—but as a release valve.

Manson spent much of 2022 in near-daily dialogue with USL executives and club owners, exploring pathways that would allow USL teams to grow without dismantling what already worked.

The message was consistent:

USL did not need to disappear.

It needed somewhere to go.

The Canadian Premier League: Quiet Momentum​

While much of the attention remained south of the border, Canada was building something quietly sustainable.

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) entered 2022 with:

• Stable ownership groups
• Increasing attendance
• Growing credibility within CONCACAF

The league’s alignment with Canadian Soccer Business had given it a commercial backbone MLS had once lacked in its early years.

More importantly, CPL leadership understood pyramids.

Promotion, relegation, licensing, and regional balance were not controversial concepts in Canada—they were expected outcomes.

Manson’s conversations with CPL executives were less about persuasion and more about coordination.

Canada, in many ways, was already mentally aligned with where North America needed to go.

CONCACAF and COMMEBOL: Watching Closely​

By 2022, both confederations were fully aware that something structural was coming.

While no official commitments had been made, exploratory conversations had intensified:

• Calendar alignment
• Club licensing standards
• Intercontinental qualification pathways

Manson positioned the North American pyramid not as a disruption—but as a stabilising force.

A stronger league structure meant stronger continental competitions.

That argument resonated.

Manson’s Role: The Connector​

What defined 2022 more than any formal announcement was Manson’s availability.

He was everywhere.

• On calls with MLS ownership groups
• In meetings with USL executives
• Coordinating with Canadian officials
• Quietly briefing CONCACAF and COMMEBOL representatives
• Fielding investor inquiries almost daily

There was no singular negotiation.

There were hundreds.

Each conversation had the same purpose:

Growth first.
Stability second.
Legacy last.

No Shortcuts to 2026​

Manson was clear with everyone involved—2026 was not a finish line.

It was a deadline.

Every decision made in 2022 was measured against one question:

“Does this help the ecosystem grow?”

If the answer was no, it didn’t matter how profitable, familiar, or comfortable the alternative looked.

A Fragile Balance​

By the end of 2022, North American football was balanced delicately.

• The USL was stronger but restless
• Canada was growing with quiet confidence
• MLS ownership was split between urgency and resistance
• Confederations were listening instead of dismissing

Nothing had broken yet.

But nothing could stay the same.

The Calm Before Structure​

The pyramid announcement would come.

Licensing would follow.

Calendars would change.

But 2022 would always be remembered as the year before inevitability—
when the future was still avoidable,
and the choices still mattered.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 39: Foundations Before Floors​

Infrastructure, Ownership, and the Right to Grow

If the pyramid was to work, it could not be built from the top down.

Matthew Manson understood this earlier than most.

Long before promotion, relegation, or continental qualification could be taken seriously, the base of the structure had to be protected. That meant ensuring that smaller clubs—often overlooked, underfunded, and operating on the margins—were not frozen out by artificial barriers.

A Different Philosophy on Licensing​

Between 2019 and 2022, Manson worked extensively with clubs across:

• USL League One
• USL League Two
• NISA
• Independent regional leagues across the U.S. and Canada

The message was consistent and deliberate:

There would be no capacity-based licensing requirements.

No minimum seat numbers.
No forced expansions.
No arms race.

Instead, licensing was built on control and permanence, not scale.

What Mattered—and What Didn’t​

Under Manson’s framework, a club could play at any professional level provided it met three non-negotiables:

1. A soccer-specific stadium
   It didn’t matter whether it held 3,000 or 30,000.
   What mattered was purpose.
2. Full access and operational control
   • Dedicated access points
   • Ticket offices
   • Matchday control
3. Permanent training facilities
   Not rented by the hour.
   Not borrowed from a college or school.
   Facilities that belonged to the club.

The size was irrelevant.

Ownership was everything.

“It Has to Be Yours”​

This phrase became one of Manson’s most repeated lines in meetings.

A club could not build a future if it did not control its own revenue streams:

• Ticketing
• Concessions
• Naming rights
• Community use
• Non-matchday events

Too many North American clubs had lived—and died—by temporary leases and borrowed facilities.

Project 26 would not repeat that mistake.

Stadiums as Anchors, Not Statements​

Across 2020–2022, Manson encouraged dozens of clubs to think differently about stadium development.

Not as symbols of ambition.
But as anchors of survival.

Small, modular builds.
Redeveloped municipal grounds.
Converted athletics facilities.
Shared-use stadiums—provided control remained with the club.

In many cases, clubs were advised to start smaller than they could afford, not larger.

Growth would come naturally if the foundation was stable.

Training Grounds: The Quiet Priority​

While stadiums drew attention, training facilities were where Manson applied the most pressure.

A club without a permanent training base could not:

• Develop youth players
• Attract coaching talent
• Meet long-term licensing standards

By 2022, training infrastructure had become a key differentiator between clubs that would survive the pyramid—and those that would not.

Protecting the Bottom of the Pyramid​

Manson was adamant about one thing:

The pyramid could not exist if its base was disposable.

Smaller clubs were not feeder teams.
They were not placeholders.
They were not temporary.

They were the ecosystem.

By removing artificial barriers tied to capacity and replacing them with standards rooted in ownership, permanence, and control, Manson ensured that ambition was not reserved for only the wealthy.

Growth Without Fear​

For many lower-league owners, this approach was transformative.

Promotion no longer meant bankruptcy.
Relegation no longer meant extinction.

A club could grow at its own pace—secure in the knowledge that it would never be disqualified simply for being small.

Building Before Climbing​

By the time the full pyramid was announced, dozens of clubs had already begun:

• Acquiring land
• Securing long-term leases
• Building modest stadiums
• Investing in training infrastructure

They weren’t chasing the top.

They were preparing for it.

And for Manson, that was the only way a football pyramid could ever last.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 40: Expanding the Map​

New Markets, Old Cities, and the Search for Believers (2020–2022)

Between 2020 and 2022, as the structure of the pyramid became clearer, Manson’s attention turned increasingly to geography.
Not theory.
Not governance.

Maps.
What cities were missing.
Where the gaps were.
Where football culture existed without a professional outlet.
What emerged was a list that surprised very few—but challenged almost everyone.

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The Next Wave of Target Markets​

By 2020, four cities had been formally identified as priority expansion locations:

• New Orleans
• Milwaukee
• Buffalo
• Cleveland

Each ticked multiple boxes:

• Strong regional identity
• Existing sports culture
• Underserved football markets
• Natural rivalries waiting to be formed

From a football perspective, they were obvious.
From an ownership perspective, they were anything but.

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The Ownership Problem​

Manson quickly ran into a familiar obstacle.
The cities were ready.
The capital was not.
Across all four markets, discussions were held with:

• Local business leaders
• Real estate groups
• Family offices
• Mid-tier private equity firms

But in each case, the same issue emerged:
hesitation without proof.
Investors liked the vision.
They understood the pyramid.
They believed in the long-term upside.
What they struggled with was being early.

---

Football Without Safety Nets​

Unlike MLS expansion, there were:

• No guaranteed valuations
• No closed-system protection
• No franchise floor

These clubs would be built to compete.
To rise—or fall—on merit.
For many potential owners, that was a leap too far.
Manson remained confident that confirmation would come—but not immediately.
By late 2022, the expectation was clear:
New Orleans, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Cleveland would be resolved in 2023.

---

The Dallas Exception​

One city, however, broke the pattern.
Dallas.
From the outset, Manson was unwavering in his belief:
Dallas could support two professional clubs at the highest level.
The market was:

• Large
• Young
• Diverse
• Deeply embedded in youth soccer culture

More importantly, it was structurally similar to:

• London
• Madrid
• Milan

A single-club model had never made sense.

---

A Second Dallas Club​

Throughout 2021 and 2022, exploratory discussions began around a second Dallas-based team, separate in identity, ownership, and geography from FC Dallas.
This was not framed as competition in a hostile sense.
It was framed as inevitability.
Derbies build culture.
Rivalries create relevance.
Cities grow when football multiplies.
Unlike other markets, Dallas attracted immediate interest, particularly from investors already involved in:

• Youth academies
• Training facilities
• Real estate development in North Texas

By the end of 2022, Dallas was no longer a question of if.
Only when.

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Expansion Without Expansion Fees​

Crucially, none of these conversations involved traditional expansion fees.
Entry into the pyramid was earned through:

• Licensing
• Infrastructure
• Financial sustainability

Not checkbooks.
For Manson, this was the only way to prevent stagnation.
The map had to remain alive.

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A Quiet Confidence​

Despite the struggles, Manson never viewed the delays as failures.
These were not speculative franchises.
They were long-term institutions.
If ownership could not commit to:

• Stadium control
• Training infrastructure
• Decades, not seasons

Then waiting was not just acceptable—it was necessary.
By 2022, the board was set.
Some pieces were missing.
Others were moving faster than expected.
But the map was no longer empty.
It was filling in—deliberately, patiently, and on its own terms.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 41: One Cup for Everyone​

The SuperCup, the Networks, and a National Stage

By the time the league pyramid was nearing public clarity, Manson had already turned his attention to what he believed would ultimately unify the entire structure.

Leagues created hierarchy.
Promotion and relegation created consequence.

But a cup created belief.

By early 2022, Manson began formal discussions around what he internally referred to as “the emotional spine of Project 26”—a single national knockout competition that every club, at every level, could enter on equal footing.

The SuperCup was no longer just a sporting concept.
It was becoming a commercial and cultural one.

Early Conversations with Garber and McDonough​

The first serious discussions took place in New York and Los Angeles, involving Manson, Don Garber, and Paul McDonough. While Garber remained cautious—fully aware of the political sensitivity of disrupting existing competitions—he recognised something different in Manson’s proposal.

This was not a rival product.
It was an amplifier.

McDonough, more instinctively aligned with the footballing side of the argument, immediately understood the scale of the opportunity. A true open cup could generate storylines no league schedule ever could.

The key question was not whether the SuperCup worked in theory.

It was whether it could work on television.

A Different Broadcast Philosophy​

From the outset, Manson was firm on one point:

The SuperCup would be purely linear television.

No fragmented streaming experiments.
No exclusive platform silos.

This was about mass exposure—casual viewers, accidental audiences, and shared national moments.

The belief was simple:
A cup competition only mattered if people stumbled upon it.

Network Interest Emerges​

Once the framework was outlined, preliminary approaches were quietly made to major U.S. broadcasters.

The response surprised even the optimists.

FOX, ESPN, and CBS all expressed serious interest.

Not in highlights.
Not in digital clips.

But in live, prime-time football.

The Proposed Broadcast Package​

The structure that emerged was both ambitious and deliberately balanced:

• Each round:
  • A shared national package of three live matches per round
• Quarter-finals:
  • All four matches nationally televised
• Semi-finals:
  • Both matches broadcast live
• The Final:
  • A standalone national broadcast event

The intent was not oversaturation, but curation.

Most matches would still belong to the clubs and local markets.
But the SuperCup’s spine—the moments that defined the competition—would belong to the nation.

Why the Networks Were Interested​

For the broadcasters, the appeal was clear:

• Unpredictability: Giant-killings drove ratings.
• Geographic reach: Every market had a reason to care.
• Narrative depth: Underdogs, rivalries, redemption arcs.
• Event television: Particularly in later rounds.

Unlike league matches, the SuperCup offered stakes that required no explanation.

Win or go home.

A Cup for Every Club​

The competition itself would include:

• All MLS Super League clubs
• All MLS Second League clubs
• All MLS Third League clubs
• NASL East and West Conference clubs
• NASL Interstate and State League champions
• Select licensed semi-professional clubs meeting facility standards

In total, the SuperCup was projected to feature 300+ clubs, making it one of the largest domestic cup competitions in the world.

Format: Simple, Brutal, Fair​

The format was intentionally unforgiving:

• Single elimination
• No replays
• Extra time and penalties from Round One
• Regionalised early rounds to control costs

As the competition progressed, geography would matter less, and narrative would matter more.

The Rose Bowl Decision​

The final piece of the puzzle was symbolic.

Manson insisted the SuperCup final needed a permanent home.

After evaluating multiple options, the choice was clear.

The Rose Bowl, Pasadena.

With its scale, history, and neutrality, it offered something American soccer had never truly claimed—a stadium big enough to feel bigger than the sport itself.

The SuperCup Final would be played there every year.

No rotation.
No bidding wars.

A fixed destination.

A National Moment, Every Year​

In private meetings, Manson framed it simply:

“Leagues decide who’s best.
Cups decide what people remember.”

With Garber’s cautious approval, McDonough’s full backing, and broadcasters circling, the SuperCup was no longer theoretical.

It was inevitable.

For the first time, American soccer wasn’t just building structure.

It was building tradition.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 42: One Place, One Product​

Streaming the Pyramid, Selling the Signal (2022–2023)

If the SuperCup was about emotion and tradition, then the league television strategy was about control.

By late 2022, with the pyramid publicly outlined and 2026 fixed as the launch point, the next battle was obvious: media rights. Not just who paid the most—but who understood what this new structure was trying to become.

Don Garber had already started laying quiet groundwork.

And the conversations were different this time.

Garber’s Apple Vision​

Garber’s initial dialogue with Apple TV began in mid-2022. What attracted him was not simply the size of the deal, but the philosophy behind it.

Apple weren’t interested in cherry-picking marquee matches.
They wanted everything.

Every league.
Every club.
Every match.

For Garber, this solved a problem MLS had wrestled with for years—fragmentation. Fans never quite knew where to find their team. Different networks, different kickoff times, different rules.

Apple offered clarity.

One league system.
One platform.
One subscription.

Manson’s Alignment — With Conditions​

Manson immediately saw the upside.

From a structural perspective, it was revolutionary. The MLS Super League, Second League, Third League, NASL East and West, and even lower tiers could all live under one roof.

A true pyramid, visually and commercially unified.

But Manson had one non-negotiable condition:

“Streaming can’t replace visibility.
It has to sit alongside it.”

He believed streaming built loyalty.
Linear television built relevance.

The Hybrid Model​

Throughout 2022 and into 2023, negotiations evolved into a hybrid framework.

Apple TV would become the primary rights holder:

• Every league match live
• Centralised production standards
• Global accessibility
• Consistent scheduling
• A single commercial identity for the pyramid

But the league would retain a secondary linear television package.

Linear TV: The Window to the Casual Fan​

Manson pushed for a simple, powerful linear offering:

• Six live matches per week
• Spread across:
  • Friday night
  • Saturday daytime
  • Saturday evening
  • Sunday afternoon
  • Sunday evening
  • One midweek fixture

These matches would rotate across:

• MLS Super League
• MLS Second League
• High-stakes relegation battles
• Promotion chases
• Derby matches
• Historic clubs

The objective wasn’t ratings alone.

It was habit.

Network Conversations Resume​

With the Apple framework in place, discussions reopened with traditional broadcasters.

FOX, ESPN, and CBS—already involved in SuperCup talks—saw the linear league package as complementary rather than competitive.

Instead of bidding wars, what emerged was a shared understanding:

• Apple owned the ecosystem
• Linear TV owned the shop window

This alignment reduced risk for everyone.

Why This Deal Was Different​

For the first time in North American soccer history:

• Fans would never ask “where is the game on?”
• Lower-league clubs would receive equal production exposure
• Promotion and relegation would be visible nationally
• A relegation battle in March could be watched anywhere in the world

Manson repeatedly stressed that this was not about replacing the old system.

It was about removing excuses.

No more blaming television reach.
No more blaming access.
No more blaming visibility.

Internal Resistance — and Acceptance​

Not everyone was immediately comfortable.

Some owners feared overexposure.
Others worried about dilution of value.
A few still clung to the franchise mindset.

But the data was compelling.

Streaming guaranteed money.
Linear TV guaranteed relevance.

Together, they guaranteed stability.

The Quiet Agreement​

By the end of 2023, the direction was clear—even if not yet fully announced.

Apple would become the backbone.
Linear television would remain the heartbeat.

The pyramid would not be hidden behind paywalls, nor scattered across channels.

It would live in one place.

And for the first time, North American soccer would look—on screen at least—like it knew exactly what it was doing.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 43: The Second Giant Enters​

Amazon, Apple, and the Battle for the Signal (2023)

By the spring of 2023, the media strategy that Manson and Garber had been shaping quietly for nearly two years was no longer flying under the radar.

Too many conversations.
Too many leaks.
Too much momentum.

And then Amazon called.

Amazon Prime Enters the Picture​

Amazon Prime Video’s interest was clear, focused, and unapologetically narrow.

They didn’t want the whole pyramid.

They wanted MLS.

Specifically:

• The MLS Super League
• The biggest clubs
• The largest markets
• The weekly tentpole fixtures

Amazon’s belief was simple: scale beats purity.

With tens of millions of North American subscribers already inside the Prime ecosystem, MLS could instantly become ambient content—always there, always visible, never hidden behind a separate subscription decision.

For Manson, that reach mattered.

A Different Philosophy​

Where Apple saw value in owning the entire ecosystem, Amazon saw value in daily relevance.

MLS matches would sit alongside:

• NFL highlights
• Premier League replays
• Documentaries
• Live sports notifications

Soccer wouldn’t be something fans had to seek out.

It would be something they stumbled upon.

The Bidding War Begins​

By mid-2023, what had once been a quiet negotiation became a genuine bidding war.

Apple doubled down on:

• Total control
• Full pyramid coverage
• Global consistency

Amazon countered with:

• Higher fees for MLS alone
• Aggressive marketing commitments
• Integration into Prime’s broader sports push

Garber was intrigued.

Manson was calculating.

Manson’s Split-Platform Vision Evolves​

Privately, Manson began to reframe the problem.

If MLS was the engine, NASL could be the proving ground.

He floated a radical adjustment:

• MLS on Amazon Prime
• NASL on linear television + secondary streaming
• Shared production standards
• Unified branding across competitions

For NASL clubs, linear television visibility could actually be an advantage—less noise, clearer windows, and a stronger regional presence.

Why Amazon Made Sense to Manson​

Manson wasn’t seduced by the biggest check.

He was focused on habit.

Amazon Prime was already part of everyday life:

• Deliveries
• Entertainment
• Live sports
• Notifications

Adding MLS to that mix reduced friction to zero.

No new app.
No new subscription.
No barrier.

Just football.

Concerns Behind Closed Doors​

There were risks.

Splitting platforms could:

• Confuse fans
• Create perception gaps between leagues
• Reignite old hierarchy fears

But Manson believed those risks were manageable—especially if the SuperCup and international qualification tied the system together visibly.

What mattered most was growth.

The Leverage Moment​

For the first time in decades, North American soccer wasn’t begging for airtime.

It was choosing.

Apple wanted ownership.
Amazon wanted scale.
Linear broadcasters still wanted moments.

The league had leverage.

And Manson knew moments like this didn’t come often.

No Decision Yet — By Design​

By the end of 2023, nothing was signed publicly.

That, too, was intentional.

The uncertainty kept pressure high.
It forced innovation.
It ensured no partner became complacent.

Behind the scenes, one truth had become undeniable:

North American soccer was no longer asking where it fit in the media landscape.

It was being fought over.