The English Premier League and The MLS: A Detailed Comparison

The Difference Between The English Premier League and The MLS

It is no secret that the MLS, along with the English Premier League, are two of the most sought-after sports leagues around the world. Not only are they both well-recognized, with millions of views each and a big army of passionate followers, but they also bring about billions of dollars in revenue through various sponsorship deals, media rights, etc. Curiously, they also share a very lookalike origin story – starting out small as regional professional football competitions and making their way up to national leagues. 

However, along with many similarities, there are multiple differences between the MLS and Premier League, which we will cover below.

It is worth noting that fans from both camps also have a vast choice of great betting experiences. You can also add the A-League, which is gaining popularity in Australia. It allows them to combine their passion for the sport with making cash by betting on various MLS, EPL and even the A-League  odds in Australia at the leading new gambling sites.

#1 The Format

The first and major difference between the two leagues is the format. The Premier League’s format is considered Europe’s basic Soccer league system. And the majority of other leagues on the continent also follow the same process. Every season, it gathers 20 teams in total. Each of these teams plays the others twice, once away and once at home.

Once the season comes to an end, the team that owns the most points comes first in the Premier League. The three teams with the fewest points go down to the Championship. 

The MLS in the US is more tangled. It has a regular season and a playoff to determine the final champion. Since the US is big, there are Western and Eastern conferences for the MLS. They send teams to the playoffs to find the champion.

Notably, the Premier League goes without a playoff as English teams have other competitions like the EFL Cup, the FA Cup, and sometimes European competitions during the season.

#2 Players and Their Salaries

• Average Salary of MLS Players – $312,470/month
• Average Salary of Premier League – £3,090,200/month

As you can see, the players of the Premier League get almost ten times the amount than the MLS players. 

The wages that players get each week are the next distinguishing difference between the two leagues. 

Many of you may think of the MLS as a place where famous players retire and receive big paychecks before leaving the sport. However, this only happens occasionally when superstars like Frank Lampard, David Beckham, or Xherdan Shaqiri choose to join the MLS.

The truth is most MLS players take home earnings of less than $10,000 a week, which isn’t a huge sum compared to their European counterparts. In the Premier League, the average player receives a salary of more than £75,000 a week, and many earn even more.

The difference is gigantic if we look at the biggest earners. Cristiano Ronaldo, the legendary Portuguese player, is the highest-paid in the Premier League, taking home over £500,000 per week, along with his sponsorships.

On the other hand, in the MLS, Xherdan Shaqiri, the top-paid earner, makes around 8 million dollars a year, not even close to a third of what Ronaldo makes.

#3 Television Money 

Now let’s talk about other financial aspects that make a notable difference in modern Soccer. In particular, let’s compare each league’s TV rights and worldwide influence. 

The rights to show live Premier League matches on TV are a huge deal in England. Media companies compete frantically for these rights every few years. It’s estimated that by 2025, just in the UK, the cost for these rights could be as high as 5 billion pounds (and it’s likely to be similar for international rights). 

This money gets shared among the teams in the league to keep them financially well-off. But it’s also why some fans from lower divisions feel left out, and it’s understandable why.

On the other hand, in the MLS, TV rights are not as valuable. It’s said that the latest cost for showing MLS matches is around 100 million dollars. Some money goes to the clubs, and some to the US Soccer Federation.

Right now, the MLS doesn’t have as much global interest as the Premier League, but that’s changing. Teams like the Atlanta United and Seattle Sounders have proven that large crowds consistently come to MLS matches to support their heroes.

#4 Calendars and Cups

The season in the English Premier League goes from mid-August to the end of May. There’s a transfer window from January to February during these nine months.

Another transfer window occurs before the league season, starting in June and ending in August.

In contrast, the MLS season runs from March to October. The MLS has two important transfer windows during the season. The first one, the main transfer window, begins in February and closes in May.

Meanwhile, the second transfer window begins in July and finishes in August.

#5 Caliber of Players

One last comparison between the MLS and EPL is the caliber of players that build each league. In general, the Premier League outshines the MLS in terms of the quality of the matches and players.

The main reason behind this gap is that soccer is much more popular in England than in the United States and Canada. Because of this, the Premier League attracts a lot of top-notch players. People from all over the world, especially Europe, dream of playing in this league. On the other hand, the MLS usually has players from the Americas and, sometimes, great players who are closer to retiring.

Overall, the Premier League teams are typically seen as the best globally, and they have proven their worth by winning tournaments in Europe against teams from other countries in the continent. Just like in the world of gambling there is the best Luotettava casino.

Some Final Thoughts 

It is obvious even without asking that the Premier League and the MLS are the most well-known and profit-making sports leagues worldwide. Both own outstanding athletes and have come a long way since they were founded. And they will certainly make headway in the future as well and get an even bigger army of fans supporting their favorite teams.