Even if MLS spends bigger, it won't suddenly become the Premier League | OneFootball

After watching three MLS teams compete at the FIFA Club World Cup, everyone seems to agree that MLS needs to increase its roster spending.

But it's a little strange that the defining moment came in Inter Miami's 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 in Atlanta.

After all, PSG's previous games included a 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final and a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid to open the Club World Cup group stage. And it would take an enormous, ludicrously unrealistic cash infusion to get Miami or any other MLS club to the level of the team that holds the title of best in Europe.

The more realistic aim should be to get MLS to a level of spending that falls in line with other North American sports leagues relative to the revenue they generate, which generally approaches a 50-50 split. And that would still represent a substantial increase in investment.

Here's a list of the 10 most-valuable MLS clubs in 2025, according to Forbes, their actual payrolls according to data from the MLS Players Union, and their potential payrolls if players split revenue with clubs in a 50-50 manner.

If MLS most valuable clubs spent 50% on payroll

Club: Actual payroll (hypothetical 50-50 split payroll)

Apples to oranges

The comparison to North American sports isn't perfect. Clubs also spend money on youth academies and MLS Next rosters, as well as transfer expenditures. And the more money you have, the easier it is to spend half of it on talent and still cover the rest of your operating expenses.

For example, most NFL teams can spend half of their total revenue on players and still be enormously profitable. But of the MLS teams listed above, only Miami could raise their payroll to the suggested 50% of revenue threshold and break even. Two of them aren't even profitable with their current payrolls, according to Forbes data.

Even so, with the value of MLS clubs continuing to grow consistently, there should be considerable room to increase the average MLS wage bill at a quicker rate until it approaches that 50-50 split.

In the near term, that is probably only enough to change MLS from a lower-second-tier league globally to a higher-second-tier league. That's certainly worth pursuing. But it probably wouldn't have changed the result of Miami's match against PSG.