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Apple’s Red Card

It’s obvious why Apple decided to pay a premium to walk away from its 10-year, multibillion-dollar MLS deal several years ahead of schedule. But with a different dance partner, the league could see its footprint expand significantly in the U.S.

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MLS
Naturally, people want to know if the viewership woes are an MLS issue or an Apple issue. It’s a little bit of both. Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Julia Alexander
November 18, 2025

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You don’t need a background in rocket science to understand why Apple’s Eddy Cue decided to pull the plug on its 10-year, $2.5 billion Major League Soccer deal three years early. The partnership likely wasn’t bringing in enough subscribers to Apple TV to justify the rights fee, and I doubt it was drawing significant new audiences to MLS, either. Last week, when Apple announced it would phase out its MLS Season Pass add-on, that turned out to be a prelude to the broader restructuring.

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