Major League Rugby Bullish About Rugby In U.S. Despite Clubs Folding
It's been a dizzying month for Major League Rugby.
Just a month ago, the New England Free Jacks were celebrating their third-straight MLR Championship — heralding the dawn of America's first rugby dynasty. Viewing figures were up, with 258 percent year-over-year streaming viewership growth and a 135 percent year-over-year increase in total minutes streamed — largely thanks to the league's deal with ESPN . MLR even saw its first documentary, ' United States of Rugby ,' hit screens across the country.
Unfortunately, the promise of MLR's eighth season has disappeared like Cheslin Kolbe in open space. It's been roughly a week since news surfaced that Major League Rugby's California clubs, San Diego Legion and RFC L.A., are merging and that NOLA Gold is stepping away from the competition in 2026. At the time, MLR CEO Nic Benson stated, 'We're as bullish as we've ever been about our potential to drive value for the sport and through the sport.'
However, since speaking with me, Benson has received more bad news. The Miami Sharks announced they would also be withdrawing from MLR, just two seasons after joining. While rumors have surfaced that both NOLA and Miami are considering a return to the competition in 2027, as of now, MLR will go into its ninth season with just eight teams — the lowest number since its second season.
It's well known in U.S. rugby circles that both the Utah Warriors and the Miami Sharks were in search of additional funding ahead of the 2026 MLR season. While there is quiet confidence that Utah will secure additional funding, Miami's ownership group has pulled the plug on their operation, not seeing the returns they were expecting.
With so much turmoil just a month after MLR's championship game in Rhode Island, fans must wonder what these changes mean for rugby in the U.S., especially with the Olympic sevens and two Rugby World Cups coming to the States in 2028, 2031, and 2033.
San Diego Legion and RFC LA have merged to form California Legion, a rugby club that will represent all of Southern California. Getty Images
San Diego Legion and RFC L.A. have joined forces to become the California Legion. The new entity will pool resources and be Southern California's sole professional club. Former Wallaby Adam Freier, who has been a key figure in Los Angeles rugby for the past four years, will take the reins as CEO of the California Legion. No details have been shared about whether former San Diego Legion owner Ryan Patterson or RFC L.A. owner Pete Sickle are equal partners or one is the majority owner of the new club.
Upon the announcement of the new club, Freier said, 'Our vision is for every young rugby player in California to know there is a clear path to pursue their sport from youth to pro and that path begins with structure, support, and alignment at every stage across the state.'
Understandably, San Diego and L.A. fans will feel hard done by. After all, they are rivals in most sports, and the San Diego Legion had one of the strongest followings in the country. However, Freier is adamant that this move will help align the Southern California rugby community and pay dividends in the long term.
The team will not operate in a single location; instead, it will have home matches in San Diego, L.A., and Orange County. This is not a short-term vision either; the club wants to make use of its connections across Southern California to ensure everyone in the rugby community has a chance to see their team play. No statements have been issued on how season tickets will be affected by the new multi-city stadium decision.
Freier also noted that the team will change color depending on where it is playing. 'At no point will the California Legion enter their stadium in San Diego without their red armor,' he told me, adding that they will play in baby blue when in L.A. Cynics will point out how difficult it will be to build a new identity and extended fanbase, chopping and changing stadiums and colors. But Freier is adamant that 'It's about being brave and doing things differently.'
With the Major League Rugby College Draft taking place at the end of August, California Legion and MLR will need to move quickly to sort out the future of the players that were once on two separate franchises.
Freier was once the head of the Players' Association in Australian rugby. As such, he says, 'I understand that there would be a lot of anxiety and confusion about this from a player's point of view.' But he said that the MLR will give the club some time to blend the new squad, noting that no players will be trapped in any deals, nor will established pros be forced to enter a draft and wait for another franchise to call their name.
The overriding feeling from fans (and likely players) regarding the new California Legion is uncertainty. At best, the club could unite Southern California's rugby communities and its sizable player pool, making the Legion into a giant capable of conquering MLR. At worst, it could be a disparate assembly of players roaming from one stadium to the next without a coherent fanbase. What is clear is that Freier and Benson are both fully backing the merger.
At the time of the announcement, Benson said, 'This new team will build and connect rugby communities to elevate the game in Southern California,' while Freier told me directly, 'We want to make California one of the strongest rugby states not only in America but on the planet.' Benson has also previously mentioned the league's desire to have a club in Northern California, particularly the Bay Area or Sacramento, where there are strong grassroots clubs and thriving, rugby-loving Polynesian communities.
NOLA Gold announced the franchise will not take part in MLR 2026. Getty Images
NOLA Gold announced its decision to leave Major League Rugby at the end of July, just one season after making its first playoff appearance. The club's official statement only states that it will not be participating in the 2026 season, leaving the door open for a future comeback.
NOLA did not publicly offer a reason for its decision to leave the league, but rumors are that its leadership did not see eye to eye with MLR and the direction the league was heading. For now, the franchise's ownership group seems intent on investing in community rugby.
In its end-of-season message, NOLA cited a 30% increase in ticket revenue as 'a strong indicator of the growing support from our community.' The Gold have introduced over 4,500 children to rugby and seem to be prioritizing the rugby development moving forward.
Despite their departure from MLR, NOLA said, 'Our belief in rugby's long-term potential remains constant - not just on the Gulf Coast, but across the United States. We are building something meaningful here: a franchise rooted in values of commitment, respect, and resilience, and a community that embraces rugby as a force for unity and excellence.'
It remains to be seen if this will continue to be true as the club moves forward outside of MLR.
Miami's departure is an unforeseen blow, and the timing could not be more ironic. On Monday, MLR announced that Sharks CEO Milagros Cubelli, the sister of Argentina scrum-half Tomás Cubelli, was voted MLR Executive of the Year by her peers.
Cubelli helped guide the Sharks to their first-ever playoff appearance, where they lost to eventual champions New England, and drove sponsorship revenue up 20% in 2025. However, improved performances on and off the field were not enough to convince owner Marcos Galperin, one of Argentina's richest men, to continue funding the MLR operation.
Ilona Maher is the face if rugby in the U.S. and around the world. Can the sport continue to grow around her and create pathways for young players? Getty Images
Freier and Benson were both quick to note that the contraction of MLR is not representative of a decreasing appetite for rugby in the U.S., and they're right. There are pockets of rugby enthusiasts around the country and a desire for the game to grow at the highest level.
The most popular rugby player on the planet,Ilona Maher, is American. USA Rugby recently fundraised over $1.8 million to bolster its product over the next three years, and World Rugby is committed to investing over $250 million in rugby in the U.S. to ensure the country can deliver two excellent World Cups and have sustained rugby growth decades into the future.
MLR's reduction to eight clubs is evidence that the league continues to search for ways to lower operational expenses while substantially increasing revenues. It can be seen as a natural contraction, similar to that of MLS, before it launches into MLR 2.0 and clubs pop up in new cities across the country. That is the hope, at least.
Speaking to me after the California Legion announcement, Freier said, 'I don't think anybody should be looking at these teams stepping back as representative of a lack of rugby growth in this country, it's not.' The former Wallaby also praised the MLR's owners, saying, 'These owners are incredible. It's expensive to be an owner, and they are passionate rugby people. They love the game.'
Benson, meanwhile, said, 'Turmoil and reinvention in a young league are not uncommon; the test will be how we navigate it.' The league's CEO added, 'I'm confident in the ability of our team and the group of owners to navigate it well.'
Whether the ownership groups are as incredible as Freier says or not, what continues to hamper rugby is the game's disparate nature in the U.S. and abroad. World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin has gone on record stating that the U.S. needs strong domestic men's and women's leagues in place ahead of the World Cups in 2031 and 2033. MLR and Women's Elite Rugby (WER) were expected to be those leagues, but as cracks surface, the rugby vultures are circling.
Rumors about a potential Super Rugby franchise in Hawai'i or on the West Coast refuse to go away. Super Rugby Americas continues to thrive in South America, and it's not hard to imagine a Miami franchise, funded by an Argentine and steeped in Latin American culture, competing against teams in Buenos Aires and Santiago as opposed to Utah and New England. The United Rugby Championship (URC) has made no secret about its desire to host games in the U.S., so what is to stop it from establishing a U.S. club?
Then there is the disruptive R360 project proposed by former England international Mike Tindall and funded by private investment from Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and the U.K.
R360 has positioned itself as the answer to rugby union's problems. It will bring money, star power, and hype to the biggest cities across the world, ala Formula 1. According to reports from City AM , the eight-team league aims to be profitable by 2027 and has enough funding to go ahead with its inaugural season next year.
With professional rugby clubs shuttering in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, there is no doubt that rugby's governing bodies must align themselves and search for new proposals that will drive revenue and deliver the best product on the field; however, allowing MLR to collapse, or worse, sewing the seeds of its destruction in favor of more immediate short-term returns in other competitions is a short-sighted move that will limit credible professional pathways in the U.S. and hamper rugby's American growth long-term.
Can the league survive with just eight teams? Schedules and playoff formats will need to be adjusted but Benson certainly seems to think so. And if it does survive, how can ownership groups decrease operating budgets while increasing revenue and performance? Most importantly, how will the entire rugby ecosystem in the U.S. grow moving forward? These are questions that the owners, the fans, and rugby's governing bodies must find answers to.
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