Major League Soccer has rejected a $4 billion media rights deal offer requiring the league to implement promotion and relegation, according to the Sports Business Journal.

The report says the deal would have quadrupled its media rights fees for six years before entering the market again in 2021, but that the promotion/relegation stipulation was a deal breaker. The offer was made by international media company MP & Silva Group.

"As Commissioner [Don] Garber stated in his letter to Mr. Silva, we are not in a position, nor are we interested in engaging with Mr. Silva on his proposal," Dan Courtemanche, MLS executive vice president of communications, told SBJ.

The report says MLS's preference is to deal with broadcasters rather than brokers, who would go on to sell the rights to other companies, which could also hurt MLS's visibility.

But MLS commissioner Don Garber has long spoken out against promotion and relegation. In November, he said doesn't see it in the league's future, with league expansion the priority.