We’ll start with the basics. 30 teams this season, courtesy of the expansion San Diego FC joining the league in year 30. That means an equal number in each conference, with no obvious geographic outliers. St Louis is in the West and Chicago is in the East, the two teams closest to the pro sports meridian. Since our focus is the US National Team, here’s a list of USMNT players in MLS.
How to watch MLS in 2025
On Apple TV and Fox Sports is the quick and easy answer. Apple TV has some MLS games for free, but the full schedule requires the MLS Season Pass add-on. 34 games are also available on Fox Sports, with 15 of those on FOX network TV.
What’s the schedule?
The MLS regular season schedule begins on February 22 and runs through October 16. Each team plays 34 games divided between home and away, with six of those games out of conference. Does that mean some MLS teams won’t play each other in 2025? Indeed it does, at least when it comes to the regular season schedule. MLS will be idle from June 15 through the 24 for the Gold Cup and Club World Cup. The league won’t take a break for the Leagues Cup in 2025, though it will happen alongside the league schedule from July 29 through August 31.
What about the US Open Cup?
16 MLS teams are playing in the US Open Cup this season instead of the Leagues Cup. That’s based on last season’s league finish, with the teams in the bottom half of the Supporters’ Shield table playing in the US Open Cup. Since this is an expansion season, it’s worth pointing out that San Diego FC is playing in the Leagues Cup in 2025. The 16 MLS teams enter in the round of 32 beginning on May 6. Most of the MLS teams playing in the Leagues Cup have entered their MLS Next Pro teams in the US Open Cup, with those teams beginning play in the first round that begins on March 18. Yes, we specified “most.” Along with San Diego, Atlanta and Colorado aren’t participating at all in the Open Cup.
And the Leagues Cup
We already spoiled it a bit in the previous sections, but this time around MLS isn’t shutting down for the Leagues Cup and isn’t entering all of its 30 teams. Instead, it’s 18 MLS teams that made the playoffs last season vs all 18 of the Liga MX clubs. San Diego takes Vancouver’s place, for those wondering how an expansion team qualified. And yes, there are 18 topflight teams in Mexico compared to the 30 in Major League Soccer. The Leagues Cup no longer begins with a group stage, opting for a version of the league stage we’ve learned to love in the UEFA Champions League this season. The Leagues Cup league phase is three games of MLS vs Liga MX. Four MLS teams and four Liga MX teams advance to the quarterfinals based on points, with all of the knockout rounds single games. The quarterfinals will also be MLS vs Liga MX.
What about the rules?
We’re going to try to stay out of the weeds since this isn’t the type of summary that should have you prepared to argue roster rules with chief soccer officers or league lawyers. Instead, we’ll be hitting the highlights for the 2025 edition of the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations with a list of bullet points:
- 30 players on active roster
- 20 players on senior roster
- Senior roster has a $5,950,000 cap
- No requirement to fill slots 19 and 20
- Max for single player is $743,750
- Supplemental roster does not count against cap
- Max 11 players on supplemental roster
- Slots 21-24 get at least minimum base – $104k
- Slots 25-30 get at least minimum reserve – $80,622
- Slot 31 is for a loaned player and the loan has to be to a lower division North American club
- Homegrown players in slots 21-30 may receive an additional $125k
- 241 international slots divided among the 30 clubs and tradeable with no limit per club
When are the transfer windows in 2025?
There are two MLS transfer windows this season, the first began on January 31 and closes on April 23. Then there’s the summer window that opens on July 24 and closes on August 21. The roster freeze deadline is September 12, again with the regular season ending on October 16.
