MLS is growing but still far from the NFL, MLB and NBA in the United States

Major League Soccer keeps growing rapidly around the world and more players in their prime, or at least still not past it, are choosing to continue their careers in the United States’ top tier. Gareth Bale (LAFC), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy) and Lorenzo Insigne (TFC) are among the biggest signings this season in MLS and they have spoken highly about the league.

MLS is growing, but not fast enough

Season-after-season, Major League Soccer has also become a very enjoyable league to watch because of the amount of goals that are scored each week. It is a very high scoring league and this has helped the spectacle improve for the fans watching from inside the stadium or through a televisual broadcast.

In early-June, a historic deal between Major League Soccer and Apple was announced to emphasise the potential further. Starting next season, every game will be broadcast on Apple TV, so for the next ten years it will allow fans around the world to have more access to the league. There will be no local broadcast blackouts and the deal is worth $250 million per season.

Having said all that, Major League Soccer still has a long way to go if it wants to compete with the other sports in America. According to a survey from Sports Betting, the National Football League is the most popular competition in the United States followed by the MLB, NBA, NHL and in fifth place is the MLS.

The survey consisted of the most popular franchises and in 26 states fans chose one from the NFL. In 13 states people chose a team from the MLB and in 10 of them they chose a team from the NBA. It is not all bad news for the MLS, though, because in another survey done by Gallup, the MLS surpassed the NHL as the 4th most popular sport in the US last December.