In December 2017, Major League Soccer announced a substantial increase in targeted allocation money, touting the influx of millions of dollars into the league’s roster spending and noting that the increase was unanimously approved by the MLS Board of Governors. That last part—the blanket agreement among the owners—was not an insignificant fact. The unanimous vote seemed to contradict a narrative that had been building in parallel with the league’s rapid expansion: New owners wanted to spend more money, and the old owners did not.



The high-spending strategies of the emerging power clubs, many of which had joined via expansion over the past decade, created a clear divide in the minds of fans and league observers. There are the owners who want to move the league forward by spending more on their players and facilities—Seattle, Toronto, Atlanta, NYCFC, and LAFC chief among them—and those who stand in their way. The owners holding back the league...