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Life goes on.

There are a lot of objections for why it can’t work. Some say Americans just don’t understand it. Some say it won’t accomplish anything. Then there’s the biggest objection of all: the teams that get relegated won’t survive. I don’t believe this is the case, at least not for every team in MLS. I have my reasons and I’m going to attempt to state them as clearly and as objectively as possible. I do support the cause after all.

The theory goes something like this: MLS Team X gets relegated, fans stop showing up, the team loses its cut of MLS’s “lucrative” TV deal, the owners run out of money, and the team is forced to fold because they can’t make enough money to keep the lights turned on. Let’s take this one step at a time.

Step 1: Fans Would Stop Showing Up

I do not believe every team in the league would see its attendance suddenly plummet 90% because they started playing in the NASL. Portland and Seattle in particular have extremely loyal fan bases. Would their fans also be the most distraught at the reality of being relegated? Absolutely. But their loyalty to their team is also the strongest and they would still be able to bring 10,000-15,000 fans through the gates for each NASL game.

Not every team would bring that many fans through the gates though. The two most viable relegation candidates over the past couple seasons have been Chivas USA and Toronto FC. The former has averaged roughly 8,200 fans per game this season while the latter is approximately 18,400 (Source: here). Chivas USA probably would see such a drop off as to render themselves financially unstable. But then again, nobody seems to think they should continue to exist in their current form. Without relegation, they continue to be propped up by the sweat of other fan bases.

Now let’s say Toronto’s attendance drops by 50%. That’s still roughly 9,000 fans per game in the second division where the average attendance is about 3,000-4,000. They can afford to stay just competitive enough to win their promotion back into MLS a year later. Are the fans upset? Sure. But it only takes one season to get promoted and win them back.

The overall average in MLS is approximately 18,500 so that argument for Toronto should work for most of the middle-of-the-road teams. Again, you just need enough fans to get you through one season. If your favorite team can’t even pull that off, then perhaps soccer is not as popular in your area as you’ve been led to believe. Perhaps the sport hasn’t grown nearly as much as we’re constantly told.

Step 2: The Team Loses Its Cut Of The MLS TV Deal

This is actually true, but let’s put into perspective just how much money this amounts to if the deal is split evenly among the 19 teams. The three year deal signed in August of 2011 is reportedly worth $10 million per year. That’s a total of $30 million for 19 teams. That comes out to $1.58 million per team. The salary cap is approximately $3 million. So before you take into consideration the amount of income made from attendance, a jersey sponsor, a stadium sponsor, etc you can pay for half of your roster if you’re coming in under the cap. Assuming your favorite team is smart and has ironclad sponsorship deals for the jersey and stadium, you’ve still got a steady source of income and you only need to bank on about 8,000-9,000 fans in attendance to help keep things afloat for one year.

But what about DP salaries? Someone has to pay those right even if they don’t count against the cap, right? True. Plenty of relegated teams all over the world deal with selling off their star players to make ends meet. MLS teams can man up and do the same. Not only that, but you can make a legitimate argument that the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls (your multi-DP powerhouses) will never be in danger of relegation. That’s how this whole thing works. You spend on good players, you win, and you don’t get relegated.

Now, MLS has struggled mightily against lower division teams in the past during the US Open Cup, but I think it’s fair to say that if an MLS team was forced to hold onto what would essentially amount to its reserve team, they would still have enough talent to compete for their spot back into MLS a year later.

And of course, all of this assumes you’re getting zero TV dollars from the NASL because they technically don’t have a TV deal. But if your team has been relegated, then that means there must be promotion as well. The Championship over in England’s second division has a TV deal with BeInSport to show their games regularly in the US. Why? Because at the end of the season, there are promotion spots on the line and there’s nothing like watching teams battle for those precious few spots. I truly believe within a year or two of implementing promotion/relegation, the NASL would be attractive enough to earn a national TV deal.

Step 3: The Owners Run Out Of Money And Can’t Afford To Keep The Lights On

This is the big one. This is the one everyone likes to harp on.

“But if the team gets relegated, the owners will stop making money! This is why we can’t have relegation! It’s too much risk!”

It is true there is a risk of losing money as a result of being relegated. I’ve addressed that concern for the most part in the first two “steps”. But would the teams lose so much that the owners run out of money? Let’s recap who some of the current owners in MLS are…

Seattle: Hollywood Producer Joe Roth (Majority), Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen (Minority)

LA Galaxy: Anschutz Entertainment Group (Majority of LA, 50% of Houston Dynamo)

New York Red Bulls: Red Bull GmbH (Red Bull Energy Drink)

Toronto FC: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Chivas USA: Jorge Vergara (Founder of Omnilife/Herbalife supplements and movie producer)

New England Revolution: Bob Kraft (Owner of the New England Patriots)

Portland Timbers: Merritt Paulson (Son of former Goldman Sachs CEO “Hank” Paulson)

FC Dallas: Hunt Sports Group (Owners of the Kansas City Chiefs)

Look closely at that group of people? Do these people/groups have their entire wealth tied up in an MLS team? No. They bought their respective teams with the change leftover from their actual sources of wealth and income. The same holds true for individual owners like new Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt, who, like most MLS owners, makes his fortune in venture capitalism.

None of these owners bought into MLS to make money. They bought into it because they wanted to buy something fun with the money they earned from the more profitable ventures they own and operate. We’ll never know for sure, but it’s very likely half the teams in MLS don’t actually turn a profit. That means some of these people/groups are losing money on their “investment” in their respective MLS teams. Yet the teams still exist and the players still collect their paychecks on time. That’s because they can dip into their other ventures for the money to sign the checks and keep the lights on. This is especially true for MLS owners who also own NFL teams. You don’t have to be a business major to see that someone like Bob Kraft could own nothing but the Patriots and the Revolution and still make enough from the former to keep the latter afloat for several years.

Now, do these rich men and women enjoy losing money on their MLS teams? Not at all. That’s why they set up MLS in its current closed, single entity format. If they’re going to lose money, they want help from their fellow millionaire/billionaire pals to recoup their losses. They can afford to take losses on their MLS teams, but why should they have to?

The point is they have the ability to, even if they don’t want to. They could easily see their MLS team get relegated to the NASL and start bleeding money. But most of them have enough to keep their current rosters intact for one season which, again, is all it takes to play your way back into the top if you’re good enough. If they choose not to do so and instantly decide to cut their losses they can sell their team to another wealthy person/group willing to buy the team on the cheap, invest just enough to play their way back into MLS in one season, and find themselves back in the black shortly.

Am I oversimplifying this? Yeah, I probably am. Does my theory work for every single soccer team in the US? No, it probably does not. But that doesn’t make it any less valid. Sports teams are backed by some of the wealthiest people/groups in the world. That’s how they’re able to exist. Then there’s teams like Nashville FC, who are simply owned by their most loyal fans. They’ll pay to see their team play no matter what division they’re in. We don’t need to worry about them either.

The implementation of promotion/relegation would open a whole new world for soccer in the United States. Promotion creates new investment opportunities for men and women looking to do something productive with their hard earned dollars. Relegation maintains the integrity of the competition being put on display before our eyes. It holds those same men and women accountable for the performance of their teams and their treatment of the local fans whose HARD earned money brings the sport to all corners of this vast, great nation of ours.

It is the key to realizing our dream of joining the ranks of the greatest soccer nations on Earth. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It can and, with a little luck and commitment from the right people, it will be done.

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Gareth Bale

The Welsh superstar completed his much talked about move from Tottenham to Real Madrid for a world record fee that comes out to approximately $132 million.

Mesut Özil

After spending all summer missing out on new signings, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger landed perhaps the world’s most creative midfielder for a reported £42.5 ($66.25 million) transfer fee.

Kaká

In an effort to fund their purchase of Gareth Bale, Real Madrid sold Brazilian midfielder Kaka back to Milan after purchasing him from the Serie A giants in 2009. He signs a two year deal with Milan.

Kevin Prince Boateng

The German international returns to the Bundesliga after completing a four year move from Milan to Schalke 04.

Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroon international is reunited with his former manager Jose Mourinho after signing a new one year deal with Chelsea from Russian side Anzhi Makhachakala.

Alessandro Matri

The Juventus forward completed a transfer to Milan and signed a four year deal.

Adem Ljajic

The Serbian forward completed a four year move from Fiorentina to Roma for a reported €11 million ($14.4 million) transfer fee.

Erik Lamela

And speaking of Roma, they sold the Argentinian winger to Tottenham for a reported €30 million ($39.9 million) transfer fee.

Christian Eriksen

Indeed, Spurs were incredibly busy this summer. They bought Ajax/Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen for a reported £11.5 million ($17.9 million) transfer fee.

Marouane Fellaini

The Belgian international turned out to be the only significant summer signing for new Manchester United manager David Moyes. Fellaini previously played for Moyes at Everton.

Geoffrey Kondogbia

The Sevilla defender joins Monaco for a reported €20 million ($26.2 million) fee and signs a five year deal with the Ligue 1 side.

Alessandro Diamanti

He’s not actually going anywhere, but Bologna made a huge splash signing him to a new five year extension.

Andrea Dossena

The veteran center back from Napoli completed a one year move to Sunderland in the English Premier League. He previously spent part of his career in England with Liverpool.

Romelu Lukaku

The Chelsea striker goes out on loan for the second year in a row. He joins Everton for the upcoming season.

Toby Alderweireld

The Dutch defender completed a permanent move from Ajax to Atletico Madrid.

Florian Thauvin

The French starlet was purchased by Lille from Bastia in January, loaned back to Bastia for the remainder of the season, and has now been sold to Marseille without having ever played a match for Lille. Thauvin factored in the French U-20 side that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup this summer.

Josua Guilavogui

The Saint Etienne midfielder completes a €10 million ($13 million) move to Atletico Madrid.

Ezequiel Schelotto

The 24 year old Inter midfielder joins Sassulo on loan for the upcoming season.

Jaroslav Plasil

The veteran Bordeaux/Czech Republic midfielder joins Catania on loan for the rest of the Serie A season.

Christian Atsu

The Ghana international was purchased by Chelsea from FC Porto and then subsequently loaned to Vitesse in the Netherlands.

Duvan Zapata

In an effort to replace the production of departed striker Edinson Cavani, Napoli signed former Estudiantes striker Duvan Zapata.

Mamadou Sakho

The former Paris-Saint Germain center back has completed a permanent move to Liverpool.

Tiago Ilori

The 20 year old Sporting Lisbon center back has also completed a move to Anfield.

Bruma

The highly rated Portugal winger completed a €10 million ($13 million) move from Sporting Lisbon to Galatasaray.

Makoto Hasebe

The Japanese international completed a permanent move from Wolfsburg to Nurnberg.

Libor Kozak

The leading scorer in last year’s Europa League competition has completed a move from Lazio to Aston Villa.

Vlad Chiriches

The Romanian center back moves from Steaua Bucharest to Tottenham.

Emiliano Viviano

The Palermo goalkeeper joins Arsenal on loan for the entire season.

Marko Arnautovic

The Werder Bremen forward completed a permanent move to Stoke City.

Teemu Pukki

The Finland international completed a four year move from Schalke 04 to Celtic.

Alvaro Vasquez

The Getafe center forward joins Swansea on loan for the entire season.

James McCarthy

The former Wigan winger is reunited with Roberto Martinez as he completes a £13 million ($20 million) move to Everton.

Gareth Barry

The Manchester City holding midfielder joins Everton on loan for the entire season.

Fabio Borini

The Liverpool striker joins Sunderland on loan for the 2013-14 season.

Oussamma Assaidi

Assaidi also departs Anfield on loan and will suit up for Stoke City this season.

Angelo Henriquez

And last, but not least, Manchester United’s young striker joins Real Zaragoza on loan for the season.

Until next time!

The club announced the signings of 20-year-old Sporting Lisbon center back Tiago Ilori and 23-year-old Paris-Saint Germain center back Mamadou Sakho. They’ve also brought in Chelsea winger/forward Victor Moses for a season long loan while simultaneously sending Fabio Borini to Sunderland on loan. The first two cost approximately €19 million ($25 million, £16 million) combined and will challenge fellow newcomer Kolo Toure once he is deemed fit to play again. Moses is a good loan signing (especially with Borini departing) but I’m not sure how much I like him long term with Brendan Rodgers having shored up his front line through summer signings Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas; not to mention youngsters like Raheem Sterling and Jordan Ibe.

The best bit of business, however, has to be the club’s ability to retain the services of Luis Suarez (who seems to be sorry for his recent behavior) and Daniel Agger. The former is still an elite goalscorer who will be needed when Daniel Sturridge eventually cools off. When all is said and done Brendan Rodgers can sit back and feel good about the business he’s done in last two transfer windows. All the piece are in place, and many of them appear to be clicking, especially after Sunday’s triumph against Manchester United.

Unfortunately, the rest of the English Premier League appears to have followed suit and brought in a number of impressive signings this summer; especially after the news from Monday’s transfer deadline. Chelsea brought back the greatest manager to ever patrol the touch lines at Stamford Bridge in Jose Mourinho. Manchester United have added the hard working Marouane Fellaini and (possibly, depending on what has transpired by the time you read this) Fabio Coentrao. Manchester City brought in the likes of Stevan Jovetic, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, and Alvaro Negredo. Tottenham turned Gareth Bale into Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, and Etienne Capoue. Arsenal, as long as it took them, managed to reel in German playmaking sensation Mesut Özil. Even Everton (yeah, those guys) managed to scoop up Gareth Barry (loan), Romelu Lukaku (loan), Gerard Defelou, and James McCarthy.

The stature of England’s top flight was on full display at the end of Monday’s transfer deadline. Even teams like Sunderland, Southampton, and Swansea made some quiet additions that could turn some heads. Just when things were looking up for Liverpool after their victory on Sunday, the rest of their biggest competitors went out and made themselves even better. I do believe this roster, as currently constructed, is capable of earning a Champions League berth next season, but that task looks much more difficult than it did Monday morning.

Eventually Daniel Sturridge is going to stop scoring and the defense is going to concede goals. The Reds are off to a great start, but these reinforcements were really the bare minimum Brendan Rodgers needed if a Top 4 finish was the goal for this season. Manchester United are going to wake up, Tottenham will see a lot of their summer signings progress as the season goes on, and teams like Everton, Swansea, Sunderland, and Southampton will all challenge for the Top 4 throughout much of the season. Earning a Champions League spot will be more difficult than it has been for several years.

Here’s a look at the lineup I’d like to see once Suarez is back…

Mignolet

Johnson – Agger- Sakho – Cissokho

Gerrard – Lucas – Luis Alberto

Suarez – Sturridge – Aspas

Although it’s only been a couple weeks, I think it’s safe to say Sturridge is best deployed in a central position at the head of the attack and having a couple dribblers like Suarez and Aspas on either side of him should help free up space for him in the box. With the front line so well established, it looks like the only way to get Luis Alberto out there regularly is to have him occupy the third midfield spot with Steven Gerrard and Lucas, with Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen in the mix as well. As for the defense, you might as well throw the new guys out there and see what they’ve got. Sakho (and even Ilori) and Cissokho are better than Martin Skrtel and Jose Enrique respectively.

Again, Brendan Rodgers has just finished up what was pretty much the best possible summer he could have short of making Real Madrid truly fancy Luis Suarez over Gareth Bale and turning the windfall into five or six very good players as Spurs did. Unfortunately, the rest of the top half of the table made some good moves for their own and a Top 4 spot just became even more difficult than ever to achieve.

Either way, sit back and enjoy Liverpool fans. It looks like we’re finally going to see the Reds finally make a legitimate run at a return to European competition.

“Walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone!”

Willian

The Brazilian central midfielder was first the subject of rumors in Liverpool, then Tottenham, and now Chelsea it turns out will get his signature. The Blues signed him for £30 million ($46.7 million) from Anzhi Machhakala in Russia.

Adel Taarabt

After hitting the drop with Queens Park Rangers, the Moroccan playmaker joins Fulham on loan for the 2013-14 season.

Gervinho

The former Arsenal winger is now with Roma in Serie A after completing a £6.9 million ($10.75 million) move.

Lisandro Lopez

The former Olympique Lyon striker has completed a permanent transfer to Al-Gharafa in Qatar’s top division.

Pablo “Dani” Osvaldo

The powerful Italian forward completed a four year, £15 million ($23.3 million) move to Southampton from Roma this past week and made his debut with the team in the second half of their 1-1 draw with Sunderland at St. Marys.

Bernard

After impressing scouts at the Confederations Cup this summer, the diminutive Brazilian has moved from his native Atletico Mineiro to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk for five years and a €25 million ($33.45 million) transfer fee.

Helder Postiga

The Portuguese striker has completed a two year move from Real Zaragoza to Valencia as the latter looks to replace the production of Roberto Soldado.

Luis Gustavo

After much speculation he would wind up in London with Arsenal, Gustavo has instead decided to stay in the Bundesliga and completed a move to Wolfsburg.

Gary Medel

The Chilean international has joined Cardiff City from Sevilla for a reported £8 million ($12.5 million) transfer fee. Medel got the start in Cardiff’s 3-2 win over Manchester City this weekend.

Lucas Piazon

The Chelsea youngster has gone on loan to Vitesse in the Netherland for the 2013-14 season.

Tom Huddlestone

The Tottenham central midfielder completed a three year move to Hull City and is joined by fellow Spurs midfielder Jake Livermore who will be in Hull on a season long loan.

Johan Elmander

The Swedish striker returns to England and will join Norwich on loan this season from Galatasaray with a view to a permanent move next summer. He spent several years in the EPL with Bolton Wanderers before ending up in Turkey.

Etienne Capoue

The French holding midfielder completed a four year move to Tottenham and got the start in their 1-0 win over Swansea on Sunday.

Stewart Downing 

The former Liverpool wide player has completed a £6 million ($9.3 million) move to West Ham where he joins former Red Andy Carroll as well.

Darren Bent

After missing much of last season with a knee injury, the Aston Villa striker joins Fulham on loan for the 2013-14 season.

Scott Parker

The Tottenham midfielder completed a three year move to Fulham and featured in their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.

Scott Sinclair

The Manchester City winger joins West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2013-14 season.

Aly Cissokho

The Valencia left back has joined Liverpool on loan for the 2013-14 season and he came on as a substitute in their victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Sebastian Cristoforo

The Uruguay U-20 starlet has completed a €2.25 million ($3 million) move to Sevilla in an effort to replace the since-sold Gary Medel.

Park-Ji Sung

The South Korean veteran midfielder joins PSV Eindhoven on loan from Queens Park Rangers for the 2013-14 season.

Gino Peruzzi

The 21 year old Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) defender has completed a permanent move to Catania in Italy.

Charalampos Mavrias

The 19 year old Greek winger joins Sunderland for a three year deal from his native Panathanaikos.

Saphir Sliti Taider

The 21 year old Bologna midfielder completed a permanent move to Inter.

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Gonzalo Higuain

The Argentinian striker has moved from Real Madrid to Napoli in Serie A where he will be expected to replace the void left up front by the departure of Edinson Cavani.

Raul Albiol

And speaking of Real Madrid players joining Napoli, the veteran Spanish defender joins Higuain and signs a four year deal.

Roberto Soldado

The prolific Valencia striker has completed a (reported) €30 million ($39.7 million) move to Tottenham Hotspur after weeks of speculation and negotiations.

Diego Lugano

The veteran Uruguayan center back has completed a two year move from Paris-Saint Germain to West Bromwich Albion.

Kevin Gameiro

The French striker leaves his native Paris-Saint Germain and signs a five year deal with Sevilla in La Liga.

Morgan de Sanctis

The former Napoli goalkeeper has completed a two year move to AS Roma for a reported fee of just €500,000 ($662,000) where he will replace the recently sold Maarten Stekelenburg.

Loic Remy

The QPR striker joins Newcastle on a season long loan after arriving in the EPL back in January.

Gary Hooper

The former Celtic striker completed a three year to move to Norwich City after much speculation about whether or not he would stay in Scotland.

Yannick Sagbo

The Ivory Coast international departs Evian (France) and joins newly promoted Hull City and signs a two year deal for a reported fee of £3 million ($4.6 million).

Lucas Biglia

The former Anderlecht central midfielder completed a five year move to Serie A’s Lazio.

Joel Campbell

For the third time since being bought by Arsenal three years ago, the Costa Rican striker will go on loan for the season, this time to Olympiakos.

Derk Boerrigter

The Ajax winger has transferred to Celtic where he signed a four year deal with the Scottish giants.

Steven Caulker

The former Spurs defender has completed a four year move to recently promoted Cardiff City.