MLS Announces Schedule, Format Changes: Impact on Fire

Major League Soccer owners convened in Palm Beach, Florida voted today to shift the league’s season from an annual spring-to-fall calendar to a European-like fall-spring calendar. The change will go into place in 2027, following the league’s 2026 season. In the announcement, MLS Commissioner Don Garber also revealed that MLS Season Pass subscriptions – previously around $100 per year – would be going way, and all league games would be available with an Apple TV – formerly Apple TV+ – subscription.

Separately, the league announced intentions to move to a single, league-wide table with a new competition format based on divisions at the same time, but that change is not yet official. Notably, the league also demurred from discussing labor issues related to the change. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLS Players Association runs through January 2028. Although season start and end dates are not specified in the agreement, players are promised a six week break in the winter.

The schedule shift represents the league’s singular largest change since the competition kicked off in 1996, eclipsing even the introduction of the Designated Player (DP) rule that allowed the Los Angeles Galaxy to sign David Beckham.

The introduction of the DP rule – which, in effect, formalized previous exemptions to the salary cap which had been granted on a  case-by-case basis, is largely credited with revitalizing – possibly saving – the then-decade-old league. MLS hopes that the schedule shift will catalyze a similar level of change and growth as the league begins its fourth decade of play.

The announcement comes after years of rumors about a potential change, and official confirmation from the league in April ago that they were actively exploring a schedule change.

Unlike the introduction of DPs, which raised the level of competition, the schedule shift will have a direct impact on fans’ gameday experience. Now, there will be more games in cool weather, and the MLS regular season will end by the time that warm weather has reliably arrived in Chicago.

In the new schedule, the regular season will take place from the middle of July through April, with playoffs in May. While league playoffs in the new format will not be interrupted by FIFA international breaks – a welcome change – the league will be adding a winter break from mid-December through early-to-mid February.

Announcing the change with Don Garber was MLS executive – and former Chicago Fire General Manager – Nelson Rodríguez – who noted that despite the shift in schedule, they estimate that 91% of the new league schedule will overlap with the current schedule. Playoffs, now happening in May, would have fields in “pristine shape,” as opposed to deep in the fall, when pitch quality sometimes plays a spoiler for quality football.

It will, however, mean that there will be a handful of additional regular-season games in Chicago earlier in the calendar year as well as deeper in the fall.

Competitive Benefits to Shift

Although warmer markets welcome the change – removing several weeks of summer matchdays when temperatures are often swelteringly hot even in the evening in places like Florida or Texas – the primary benefit is on the sporting side.

At present, MLS’s primary transfer window is in the winter, while most contracts throughout the sport expire in the summer. That means teams looking to rebuild their roster have fewer options available, and many players coming into the league have already played for months before moving straight into a 34 game MLS season.

Because of the limited player pool available in January, many teams intentionally leave spots open to make bigger moves in the summer – but those players can only have a limited impact on a team’s place in the standings by the time they arrive. André Franco, the Fire’s biggest summer acquisition, first took to the pitch when the team had eight games remaining on the schedule.

By aligning the schedule, MLS teams will now be able to build their rosters at a time when a larger pool of players is available, and the secondary window – which will be shortened but will remain in January – is earlier in the league schedule, allowing midseason acquisitions to have a  greater impact on their team’s fortunes.

In a press conference on the change, Rodríguez said that the league’s intention is for the primary window – which is ultimately decided by the U.S. Soccer Federation  – to be open later than that in most of Europe. That would align Major League Soccer with Liga MX and the Turkish Süper Lig, both of whom have benefited from being able to sign “last chance’ players if moves to or within the top leagues globally didn’t come to pass before their windows closed.

In a statement to MIR97 Media about the change, Chicago Fire Director of Football  said ““The beauty of MLS is how it has evolved over the years, and another step in that evolution is aligning with the top leagues in the world. Moving to an international calendar helps position MLS on par with the best. With alignment to the FIFA calendar, it gives you the opportunity — during the global post-season window — to acquire players who can immediately help you for the upcoming year. Right now, we often face two issues: integrating new players late in the season when everyone else is already up to speed, and potentially losing key players to transfers just as we’re heading toward the end of the season. This new structure helps solve both challenges.”

To bridge the two schedules, the league said that the plan will be for a roughly half-season long competition from February to in May 2027 ahead of the flip.