NYCFC Social Media Thread
- Thread starter Gotham Gator
- Start date
I actually think expansion fees are not going to go up, because any further expansion from here will be a sign that an MLS second division (with pro/rel just between the 2 MLS leagues) is on its way.
If I were the Soccer Don, I would get a group of 10-12 cities ready to join MLS2 all at once, charge a smaller expansion fee, setting aside a portion of the fees to set up a "relegation fund" and then pro/rel 2 teams each year -- a regular-season champ and a 2- or 4- team playoff winner.
Relegated teams get compensated with money from the fund, and if successful, keep selling 2nd division expansion teams until you have 20 and eventually pro-rel three teams a year.
That plus distributing any TV windfall somewhat evenly across teams and divisions will go a long way toward maintaining parity and ensuring that owners don't feel as if they are risking too much by going down.
I think it's more just a high risk, high stakes bet on the growth of the game and value of TV rights.
Invest to scale, then monetize.
Yeah, this is really the R&D phase of getting the league to a fully operational level for rollout to the networks. There are only so many positions left, which is how they’re justifying the rising fees, but without them the league will not be primed for the TV payday. And these last few owner/investors are betting their high stake buy-in will be pittance when matched against the TV deal that cyclically gets renegotiated (for more) every 5-10 years, or whatever the terms dictate. Between that and their share of SUM, the investment will easily pay for itself. My guess is that right now there are a lot of very pissed off owner/investors when the subject of USSoccer & the Men’s National Team comes up. If that ship doesn’t get righted very quickly, it’s going to severely impact the viewership mood that drives the TV contract negotiations. I wonder if there’s gonna be a soccer coup with Ernie and the Berhalter-Bros getting tossed - the clock is ticking for something to happen.
Yes. I posted a while back to a link of what's being tossed around as rumored target numbers, but I'm too lazy to look through the posts and I can't find it on google. The league has mandated that teams cannot sign new broadcast deals because they plan to package everything together for the most bang/buck which is why expansion accelerated so much recently; they're locking in the major markets.
The big variable that could really hurt them is if the USMNT tanks and kills interest with another poor showing. The networks need to see that there's a fever pitch with fan interest and support for not just MLS but the Men's team since there's cross-over and SUM is involved.
But to your point, those are old rumors based off of a different USMNT world.
Has the viewership really improved?
I’m sure there’s a lot of discussion by both sides to rationalize the numbers with MLS making every attempt to compartmentalize the MNT’s shitty performances and associated lagging fan enthusiasm.
Probably. I don’t think there is a solid rationale for spending $700 million on creating a new soccer team in any city in America right now UNLESS the city is defeating costs and it is part of a larger development project.
I’m sure there are plenty of financial/tax reasons to do it that you and I and most all plebeian/normal people aren’t informed about or have access to - parking money in a business/real estate to defer taxes and create expenses and convert liquidity to a tangible franchise commodity while taking League-related dividends..... etc..... etc..... etc......
The folk partaking in this are not dropping rent checks on a big-bet gamble - they’re taking FU-level money, that 99.9999% of the world’s population dreams about, and converting it into a mechanism that unless the economy tanks to an Armageddon level will pay a multiplier return on their investment, with even the slightest fraction of a return being more than the Average Joe’s extended family makes in a lifetime.
You know what, the weather was sorta getting me down but you've really lifted my spirits now.
They acknlowedge the passing of the Gregorian calendar and one rotation around the sun.
No "First Signing of the Decade" announcements, though.
