Major League Rugby

Professional rugby union competition in the United States and Canada

Major League RugbyCurrent season, competition or edition:
2024 Major League Rugby season

Sport| Rugby union
Founded| 2017
First season| 2018
Commissioner| Nic Benson[1]
No. of teams| 11 (as of 2025 season)
Countries|  United States
(11 teams)
Headquarters| Dallas, Texas, United States
Confederation| RAN
Most recent
champion(s)| New England Free Jacks
(2nd title)
Most titles| Seattle Seawolves, New England Free Jacks
(2 titles)
TV partner(s)|

* United States:
* Fox Sports (English)
VIX (Spanish)
* International:
* The Rugby Network

Official website| majorleague.rugby

Major League Rugby (MLR)[a] is a professional rugby union competition for clubs in North America. In the 2023 season it was contested by twelve teams: eleven from the United States and one from Canada.[2] While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned by USA Rugby—a member union of Rugby Americas North (RAN)—and is consequently part of World Rugby. The league was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

MLR began its first season in 2018 with seven teams. The league has since expanded, reaching an all-time high of 13 teams in the 2022 season.[3] Twelve teams competed in the 2024 season.

Major League Rugby implemented its first collegiate MLR Draft in 2020.[4][5][6] Also in 2020, Major League Rugby teams started forming youth academies.[7][8]

## History

[edit]

### Founding

[edit]

See also: History of rugby union in the United States

In September 2016, with at least five amateur rugby union clubs across the United States discussing a possible professional league, Dean Howes,[9] who had previously been an executive with Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake and the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, stepped in as senior strategic advisor for Rugby Utah in an attempt to provide a pathway for expanding professional rugby stateside.[10]

By February 2017, a total of nine amateur rugby union organizations including the Austin Huns, Dallas Griffins, Glendale Raptors, Houston Strikers, Kansas City Blues, Minneapolis, New Orleans RFC, Rugby Utah and the Seattle Saracens, announced their intentions to form a professional league to begin play the following year.[11][12]

On August 15, 2017, the Austin Huns announced that it would opt-out of MLR in favor of allowing a newly branded spinoff, the Austin Elite compete in the league.[13] The Houston Strikers rebranded themselves as the Houston SaberCats. Whereas the elite players of New Orleans, Utah, and Seattle became the New Orleans Gold, Utah Warriors, and Seattle Seawolves respectively, interests in Minneapolis were replaced by the San Diego Legion.[14] With Kansas City and Dallas still in planning stages, the league continued as seven members for its inaugural season.[15]

On November 6, 2017, Major League Rugby and CBS Sports Network announced a multi-year television partnership which marked MLR's first major television deal for broadcast rights.[16] It was the first time in American history that a new sporting league had a national television deal prior to launch.[17]

### Early seasons and rapid expansion

[edit]

The first regular-season game in Major League Rugby history was held on April 21, 2018, when the Houston SaberCats hosted the New Orleans Gold. The final was contested between the Seattle Seawolves and the Colorado Raptors, with the Seawolves winning 23–19 to become the inaugural champions.

In addition to Rugby United New York, the Toronto Arrows joined the league ahead of 2019 season as the first Canadian team in MLR. Three further American clubs began play in 2020: the New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC, and Rugby ATL.[18] With the opening of SaberCats Stadium as Houston's permanent stadium in April 2019, MLR gained its first stadium that was specifically built for league play.

Later in April, RUNY announced the signing of French international Mathieu Bastareaud on a loan deal from Toulon for the 2020 season.[19] In October 2019, another major signing was made when it was announced that All Blacks international and multiple World Cup winner Ma'a Nonu would join the San Diego Legion for the 2020 season.[20] The following December saw another World Cup winner sign with the league, namely South Africa prop Tendai Mtawarira with Old Glory DC.[21]

On March 12, 2020, MLR initially suspended its 2020 season for 30 days due to the coronavirus pandemic,[22] but then cancelled the remainder of the entire season on March 18, after five rounds had been played.[23]

The LA Giltinis began competition in the 2021 season, followed by the Dallas Jackals, who entered in the 2022 season.[24][25][26]

At the end of the 2022 regular season, MLR announced that the Giltinis and the Gilgronis—both owned by Adam Gilchrist, co-founder of F45 Training—were disqualified from the playoffs due to a violation of league rules, allegedly including salary cap issues.[27] At the time of their disqualification, the Giltinis and Gilgronis were ranked first and second in the western conference. Gilchrist filed suit against the league and the two teams were expelled from the league in October following a failed attempt to sell both teams.[28]

The Chicago Hounds began competition in the 2023 season.[29][30] On February 8, 2023, Major League Rugby announced that the Miami Sharks would join the competition for the 2024 season.[31] Following the 2023 season, Rugby ATL relocated from Atlanta to Los Angeles and rebranded as Rugby FC Los Angeles.[32][33][34] In November 2023, the Toronto Arrows announced they would cease all operations following the death of founder Bill Webb and a failure to secure new investors.[35][36] A week later, the New York Ironworkers announced they would also fold.[37] On January 19, 2024, the league announced the creation of Anthem Rugby Carolina for the 2024 season.[38] The team will serve as development team for US-eligible players, based upon the USA Hawks Under-23 men's development side. The team is financially supported by World Rugby, and unlike the other teams, its primary purpose will be to develop US-eligible players, in order to help qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and improve the USA Eagles as a competitive entity, before the USA-hosted 2031 Rugby World Cup.[39]

## Competition format

[edit]

Major League Rugby spans five months from late February through to early July. The 2019 regular season was a double round-robin with all clubs playing each other home and away.[18] Each team played sixteen games, half of them at home. This was followed by a postseason for the top four teams consisting of two semi-final matches and the Championship Game to determine the season's MLR champion team.[40]

Since the 2020 season, MLR used a conference format.[41] Both conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, consisted of six teams (seven teams took part in the 2022 Western Conference). Each team plays a double round-robin within their conference, home and away, in addition to playing six games against teams from the other conference, for a total of 16 regular-season games.[42]

The postseason consists of the top three teams from each conference: a wildcard game between the second and third ranked teams, followed by a playoff game between the wildcard winner and the first ranked team in the conference. The resulting playoff winners from each conference then face off in the championship final.

The league is structured as a closed system and, similar to other American sports leagues, does not have promotion and relegation.[43] It operates as a single entity similar to Major League Soccer, with each team or "franchise" owned by the league and the franchise operators owning a share of the league.[44]

## Teams

[edit]

### Map

[edit]

Houston

New Orleans

San Diego

Seattle

Utah

Los Angeles

Carolina

New England

Chicago

Miami

class=notpageimage|

Locations of Major League Rugby teams
Current teams

### Current teams

[edit]

The Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, and Utah Warriors have been a part of Major League Rugby since its founding in 2018. The New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC, and Rugby FC Los Angeles (as Rugby ATL) joined in 2020; and the Chicago Hounds joined in 2023. The 2024 season includes two new clubs of the Miami Sharks and Anthem RC along with the relocated club Rugby FC Los Angeles, who had previously been Rugby ATL based in Atlanta.[45][46]

Overview of Major League Rugby teams  Club  | Location  | Stadium  | Capacity  | Joined  | Coach  | Broadcasters

|
|
|
|
|
|

Anthem RC | Charlotte, North Carolina | American Legion Memorial Stadium | 10,500  | 2024  |  Alama Ieremia | TBA
Chicago Hounds | Bridgeview, Illinois | SeatGeek Stadium | 20,000  | 2023  |  Sam Harris | Marquee Sports Network
Houston SaberCats | Houston, Texas | SaberCats Stadium | 4,000  | 2018  |  Pote Human | Space City Home Network
Miami Sharks | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | AutoNation Sports Field | 5,000  | 2024  |  José Pellicena | TBA
New England Free Jacks | Quincy, Massachusetts | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 5,000  | 2020[47] |  Scott Mathie | NBC Sports Boston
New Orleans Gold | Metairie, Louisiana | Gold Mine on Airline[b] | 10,000  | 2018  |  Cory Brown | YurView Louisiana
Old Glory DC | Germantown, Maryland | Maryland SoccerPlex | 5,000  | 2020[49] |  Simon Cross | Univision DC
Monumental Sports Network
Rugby FC Los Angeles | Carson, California | Dignity Health Sports Park | 27,000  | 2020  |  Stephen Brett | TBA
San Diego Legion | San Diego, California | Snapdragon Stadium[c] | 35,000  | 2018  |  Danny Lee[51] | FOX 5 San Diego
Seattle Seawolves | Tukwila, Washington | Starfire Stadium[d] | 4,500  | 2018  |  Allen Clarke | Univision Seattle
Root Sports Northwest
Utah Warriors | Herriman, Utah | Zions Bank Stadium[e] | 5,000  | 2018  |  Greg Cooper | KMYU

### Timeline

[edit]

### Future teams

[edit]

The expansion franchise fee is US$4 million as of 2019.[54]

### Former teams

[edit]

Team | Location | Stadium | Joined | Left

|
|
|
|

Colorado Raptors | Glendale, Colorado | Infinity Park | 2018 | 2020
LA Giltinis | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 2021  | 2022
Austin Gilgronis | Austin, Texas | Bold Stadium | 2018  | 2022
Toronto Arrows | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 2019  | 2023
Rugby ATL | Atlanta, Georgia | Atlanta Silverbacks Park | 2018  | 2023
Rugby New York | New York, New York | Mount Vernon Memorial Field  | 2019  | 2023
Dallas Jackals | Dallas, Texas | Choctaw Stadium | 2022 | 2024

On April 9, 2020, the Colorado Raptors announced that they would withdraw from Major League Rugby after three seasons in the league, effective May 2, 2020,[55] the first team to do so. Their announcement explained their withdrawal by saying that "our greater responsibility lies in the development of American players who can win the World Cup for the United States."[55] Asked to explain how withdrawing from the league would help to develop American rugby players, the Raptors referred the question to Glendale City Manager Linda Cassaday, who said on April 10, 2020, that MLR had been founded with a core mission of developing American rugby players and originally had limited teams to three foreign players, although this expanded to five players before the first season began in 2018.[55] MLR had expanded from seven teams in 2018 to 12 in 2020 without having enough American players to fill out rosters and had raised the ceiling on foreign players to 10 per team.[55] The Raptors believed that both this overall number of foreign players and the higher proportion of foreign to American players no longer best served the goal of developing American players who could compete successfully in the Rugby World Cup, and therefore chose to withdraw from the league to better focus their efforts on the development of American players who could compete on an international stage.[55]

On October 25, 2022, Major League Rugby announced that 12 teams would compete in the 2023 season, but that neither the Austin Gilgronis, nor the LA Giltinis will participate. With the uncertainties surrounding Austin and Los Angeles' team ownership, it was determined to suspend operations of the two teams to ensure a successful 2023 season, and protect the long-term strength and continued growth of the league.[56]

On November 27, 2023, Major League Rugby announced that the Toronto Arrows would cease all operations, and not compete in the 2024 season.[35] The Arrows had sought new funding following the death of their CEO, Bill Webb, but were unable to guarantee the new backers in time.[36]

In December 2023, Major League Rugby announced that the New York Ironworkers were withdrawing ahead of the 2024 season.[37]

In September 2024 the Dallas Jackals, who joined the league in 2022, informed the league that they will not participate in the 2025 competition.[57]

## Champions

[edit]

### By year

[edit]

Year | Teams | Champion | Score | Runner-up

|
|
|
|

2018 | 7 | Seattle Seawolves | 23–19 | Glendale Raptors
2019 | 9 | Seattle Seawolves | 26–23 | San Diego Legion
2020 | 12 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 | 12 | LA Giltinis | 31–17 | Rugby ATL
2022 | 13 | Rugby New York | 30–15 | Seattle Seawolves
2023 | 12 | New England Free Jacks | 25–24 | San Diego Legion
2024 | 12  | New England Free Jacks | 20–11 | Seattle Seawolves

### By team

[edit]

Club | MLR Shields | Year(s) Won | Conf champs | Year(s) Won | Playoff apps | Year(s) | Total seasons

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Seattle Seawolves | 2 | 2018, 2019 | 2 | 2022, 2024 | 5 | 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 7
New England Free Jacks | 2 | 2023, 2024 | 2 | 2023, 2024 | 3 | 2022, 2023, 2024 | 5
Rugby New York† | 1 | 2022 | 1 | 2022 | 4 | 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 | 5
LA Giltinis† | 1 | 2021 | 1 | 2021 | 1 | 2021 | 2
San Diego Legion | 0 | - | 1 | 2023 | 5 | 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 7
Rugby FC Los Angeles | 0 | - | 1 | 2021 | 2 | 2021, 2022 | 5
Houston SaberCats | 0 | - | 0 | - | 3 | 2022, 2023, 2024 | 7
Utah Warriors | 0 | - | 0 | - | 2 | 2018, 2021 | 7
Toronto Arrows† | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1 | 2019 | 5
Old Glory DC | 0 | - | 0 | - | 2 | 2023, 2024 | 5
Colorado Raptors[f]† | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1 | 2018 | 3
NOLA Gold | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1 | 2024 | 7
Austin Gilgronis[g]† | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 5
Dallas Jackals† | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1 | 2024 | 3
Chicago Hounds | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1 | 2024 | 2
Miami Sharks | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1
Anthem RC | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - | 1

† Franchise no longer competes in MLR

## MLR rivalry cups

[edit]

In Major League Rugby, several teams annually compete for secondary rivalry cups. Most cups are deliberately conceived as local derbies between teams in the same region.

### Summary

[edit]

Each win is counted as an official title. Only official MLR games are considered as official rivalry games unless an exhibition game is specifically marked as a Rivalry game. Several teams now participating in cups played matches before the creation of the cups.

#### Active

[edit]

Rivalry name  | Most wins  | Titles  | Other club(s)  | Titles  | Recent winner

|
|
|
|
|

Coffee Cup | New England Free Jacks | 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 1 | New England Free Jacks
Cali Cup | San Diego Legion | 2 | RFC Los Angeles | 0 | San Diego Legion

#### Inactive

[edit]

These Cups are currently listed as inactive, due to teams withdrawing from, or relocating within, Major League Rugby. Individual cups may return with new teams in the future.

Rivalry name  | Most wins  | Titles  | Other club(s)  | Titles  | Last winner

|
|
|
|
|

Texas Cup | Austin Gilgronis | 3 | Houston SaberCats | 0 | Austin Gilgronis
Lone Star Champs | Austin Gilgronis | 1 | Houston SaberCats
Dallas Jackals | 0
0 | Austin Gilgronis
Cali Cup (original) | LA Giltinis | 2 | San Diego Legion | 1 | San Diego Legion
Champagne Cup | Rugby New York | 1 | LA Giltinis | 1 | LA Giltinis
Cuisine Solutions Cup | Old Glory DC | 2 | Austin Gilgronis | 1 | Austin Gilgronis
Gillys Cup | LA Giltinis | 3 | Austin Gilgronis | 1 | LA Giltinis
Fire and Ice Cup | Rugby ATL | 3 | Toronto Arrows | 0 | Rugby ATL
Chowdah Cup | New England Free Jacks | 5 | Rugby New York | 1 | New England Free Jacks
I-45 Feud | Houston Sabercats | 6 | Dallas Jackals | 1 | Dallas Jackals (2024 Western Conference Semi-Finals)
Dog Bowl | Chicago Hounds | 2 | Dallas Jackals | 1 | Dallas Jackals
Hargest Bowl | San Diego Legion | 6 | Dallas Jackals | 0 | San Diego Legion

## Players

[edit]

Major League Rugby players include those drawn from North American clubs, as well as foreign signings. Although the original concept was to limit club to three foreign players, the limit grew to five before the start of the first season, before then being increased to ten. This increased allotment of foreign players led to some criticism that MLR was not providing enough opportunities for American players to develop.[58]

### Awards

[edit]

MLR season
| Player of the Year  | Forward of the Year  | Back of the Year  | Coach of the Year  | Rookie of the Year  | S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award

|
|
|
|
|
|

2019 |

* Brad Tucker
* Seattle Seawolves

* Paddy Ryan
* San Diego Legion

* JP Du Plessis
* San Diego Legion

* Rob Hoadley
* San Diego Legion

* Not Awarded

* Not Awarded

2021 |

* Mike Te'o
* Utah Warriors

* Johan Momsen
* Rugby ATL

* Bill Meakes
* LA Giltinis

* Shawn Pittman
* Utah Warriors

* Andrew Guerra
* NOLA Gold

* Not Awarded

2022 |

* Beaudein Waaka
* New England Free Jacks

* Brendon O'Connor
* Rugby New York

* Bill Meakes
* LA Giltinis

* Scott Mathie
* New England Free Jacks

* Tavite Lopeti
* Seattle Seawolves

* Andrew Quattrin
* Toronto Arrows

2023 |

* Jayson Potroz
* New England Free Jacks

* Wian Conradie
* New England Free Jacks

* Nate Augspurger
* San Diego Legion

* Josh Syms
* Old Glory DC

* Sam Golla
* Dallas Jackals

* Daniel Kriel
* Seattle Seawolves

2024 |

* Wayne van der Bank
* New England Free Jacks

* Jero Gomez Vara
* Dallas Jackals

* Reece MacDonald
* New England Free Jacks

* Scott Mathie
* New England Free Jacks

* Junior Gafa
* Anthem RFC

* Ben LeSage
* New England Free Jacks

MLR championship
| MVP of the Championship Match

|

2018 |

* Vili Toluta'u
* Seattle Seawolves

2019 |

* JP Smith
* Seattle Seawolves

Apisai Naikatini
(MVP of Championship Series)
Seattle Seawolves
2021 |

* Matt Giteau
* LA Giltinis

2022 |

* Andy Ellis
* Rugby New York

2023 |

* Jayson Potroz
* New England Free Jacks

2024 |

* Jed Melvin
* New England Free Jacks

## Television coverage

[edit]

Major League Rugby programming runs in prime weekend time slots on Saturday afternoons and Sunday evenings.[59] As of 2024, FOX Sports broadcasts select matches nationally on FS1 & FS2, including the Championship Final; all other matches are available to stream live and for free on The Rugby Network.[60][61]

The 2019 Championship game was broadcast on CBS, the first MLR game to be televised on free-to-air TV. It gained a 0.32 Sports TV rating which equated to 510,000 two-plus-person households.[62]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLR adjusted its 2020 season schedule and turned its attention to ensuring the league would rebound with a strong showing in 2021. Matches were televised on CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports 2, among other national and local market platforms. The MLR Championship was broadcast on CBS on Sunday, August 1, 2021.[63]

For the 5th (2022) and 6th (2023) seasons of MLR competition, FOX Sports nationally broadcast select matches on FS1 and FS2.[64] FOX broadcast the 2022 Final between New York and Seattle, with an average audience figure of 281,000.[65] During the 2023 season, FOX Sports 1 broadcast three regular season matches, with average audience figures ranging between 53,000 and 147,000.[66] Fox Sports 2 broadcast one regular season match with an average audience of 36,000.[67]

Several teams have separate local rights agreements.

* San Diego Legion has a separate local rights agreement for their market with all the Legion's home-and-away MLR games that are not nationally televised being televised locally on Channel 4 YurView California.[68]
* The Chicago Hounds began a television partnership with Marquee Sports Network beginning with the 2023 season.[69]
* Rugby United New York (RUNY) announced a regional television partnership with SNY to televise nine games of RUNY's inaugural season (2019), including live coverage of with the premiere game.[70] NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Philadelphia+ joined SNY in televising match coverage of eight remaining games.[71]
* Toronto Arrows Rugby announced a television partnership with GameTV for the 2019 season. Between 2020 and 2023, Toronto Arrows games were available in Canada on TSN.
* Austin Elite Rugby partnered with Facebook Watch for their Texas-based viewers during the 2019 season.[citation needed]

MLR Weekly presented by Rugby Wrap Up is a weekly Major League Rugby magazine show featuring weekly highlights, previews and interviews with players, coaches and rugby personalities. The show is broadcast on American TV including Cox Communication's YurView Channel 4 in San Diego and Santa Barbara, and Channel 118 in Orange County and Palos Verdes, YurView California. YurView Arizona, YurView Vegas as well as Marquee Sports Network in Chicago.[72]

Previous television partners include AT&T, CBS, and ESPN. ESPN had the national and international rights to an 18-game package covering regular season matches to audiences across its various platforms for the 2018 season.[73] The CBS Sports Network televised select matches nationally during the 2019 season. This included a Game of the Week during each of the 10 rounds of the MLR regular season along with all three post-season matches.[40] Dan Power (Play By Play), Brian Hightower (Color Analyst) and Stacy Paetz (Sideline) were the CBS Sports commentators for the 2019 season.[74] The remaining games were available on ESPN properties and regional sports networks.[73] AT&T Sports Networks had a 17-game package covering six of the seven MLR teams for games not broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.[59] Home-and-away matches for Austin, Houston and New Orleans were carried on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Seattle's matches were carried on Root Sports Northwest and all Colorado and Utah games were hosted on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.[59]

### Finals TV ratings

[edit]

Year | TV Viewership | Ratings | Channel | Stadium Attendance | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2018 |  |  | CBSSN | 2,901 | [75][76]
2019 | 510,000 | 0.32 | CBS | 6,000 | [77][78][79]
2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 | 478,000 | 0.28 | CBS | 7,389 | [80][81]
2022 | 281,000 | 0.16 | Fox | 1,979 | [82][83]
2023 | 269,000 | 0.2 | Fox | 10,103 | [84][85]
2024 | 200,000 |  | Fox | 12,085 | [86]

### Streaming

[edit]

On March 16, 2021, MLR launched The Rugby Network.[87] It is a free streaming platform in conjunction with RugbyPass which streams MLR matches and highlights. This digital network provides rugby fans with a single destination to stream select MLR matches, international rugby matches, game highlights, and other content.[88] In 2024 MLR announced that there were over 271,000 subscribers to The Rugby Network with 55% year on year growth.[89]

### MLR App

[edit]

On March 17, 2021, MLR launched its official mobile app. This allows MLR fans to view MLR news, schedules, match scores, team profiles, statistics, and other video content. The app is part of a multi-platform deal with digital sport innovators PT SportSuite for MLR's digital media capabilities. The MLR app is available to download on iPhone App Store and Android Google Play.[90]

## Attendance

[edit]

Top ten attendances for Major League Rugby matches all time, from 2018 onward:

Rank | Attend­ance | Game | Date | Season | Venue | Location

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | 12,085 | New England Free Jacks vs Seattle Seawolves
Championship Final | August 4, 2024 | 2024 | Snapdragon Stadium | San Diego, CA[91]
2 | 11,423 | San Diego Legion vs Utah Warriors
Week 1 | February 18, 2023 | 2023 | Snapdragon Stadium | San Diego, CA[92]
3  | 10,906 | Utah Warriors vs Rugby FC Los Angeles
Week 18 | June 28, 2024  | 2024 | America First Field | Sandy, UT[93][94]
4 | 10,103 | San Diego Legion vs New England Free Jacks
Championship Final | July 8, 2023 | 2023 | SeatGeek Stadium | Chicago, IL[85][95]
5 | 9,186 | Utah Warriors vs Glendale Raptors
Pre-season exhibition | March 30, 2018 | 2018 | Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, UT[96][97]
6 | 8,926 | San Diego Legion vs New York Ironworkers
Week 15 | May 28, 2023 | 2023 | Snapdragon Stadium | San Diego, CA[98]
7 | 7,389 | Los Angeles Giltinis vs Rugby ATL
Championship Final | August 1, 2021 | 2021 | Los Angeles Coliseum | Los Angeles, CA[81]
8 | 6,000 | San Diego Legion vs Seattle Seawolves
Championship Final | June 16, 2019 | 2019 | Torero Stadium | San Diego, CA[99]
9 | 4,880 | Los Angeles Giltinis vs Utah Warriors
Week 9 | May 15, 2021 | 2021 | SoFi Stadium | Los Angeles, CA[100]
10 | 4,821 | New England Free Jacks vs Dallas Jackals
Week 14 | June 2, 2024 | 2024 | Veterans Memorial Stadium | Quincy, MA[101][102]

Attendance for the inaugural season was approximately 1,800 per match.[103] That average increased by about 300 per game in 2019 with an average of 2,133 per game and a total of 159,000 attendees.[103] George Killebrew reported that in 2022 an additional 70,000 tickets were sold compared to the 2021 season, with crowd averages remaining around 2,000 per game.[104] Major League Rugby's instagram account reported a 13% increase in attendance between the 2023 and 2024 MLR seasons.[89]

## Executives

[edit]

Commissioner/CEO

* Dean Howes (2016–2019)[44]
* George Killebrew (2019–2023)[105]
* Nic Benson (2023–present)[1]

Deputy Commissioner

* Nic Benson (2016–2023)[106]

## Sponsorship

[edit]

The Gem Garden in San Marcos, California, makes all MLR Championship rings, as of 2018.[107]

On October 28, 2019, Major League Rugby announced that, starting for the 2020 season, Paladin Sports will be the new supplier of all uniforms/kit for the league.[108] On November 1, 2023, MLR announced a 3-year partnership with Italian sportswear brand, Kappa, as the official kit partner of the league, beginning with the 2024 season.[109]

On January 2, 2020, MLR partnered with Rhino Rugby for the 2020 season. Rhino Rugby is the official ball and technical training equipment supplier for the 2020 MLR season. The Rhino Rugby "Vortex Elite" ball is the official MLR match ball for all 12 teams. The Vortex Elite is currently the official ball of Rugby Europe, and Asia Rugby, and has been used in the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) the past several years[110]

In March 2021, American Airlines became MLR's official airline and travel partner.[111][112]

On February 23, 2023, MLR signed a partnership with OVAL3, the brand specializing in Web3 and fantasy rugby. OVAL3 will be the "Exclusive NFT Fantasy Game" of Major League Rugby. OVAL3 plans to provide "world-class immersive experiences" and Web 3.0 engagement to rugby's rapidly-growing North American fanbase.[113]

On October 6, 2023, MLR signed a partnership with Legends to lead sponsorship sales and commercial outreach.[114]

On November 1, 2023, MLR announced a three-year agreement with Italian sportswear manufacturer, Kappa, to provide match kits, training kits, and fanwear support to all MLR teams.[115]

Jersey sponsorships  Team  | Sponsor  | Manufacturer

|
|

Dallas Jackals | None | Kappa
Houston Sabercats | None
Chicago Hounds | None
New Orleans Gold | Louisiana Office of Tourism
Rugby New York | None
San Diego Legion | Kings and Convicts Brewing
Seattle Seawolves | WaFd Bank
Toronto Arrows | Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation
Utah Warriors | InterMountain Healthcare
New England Free Jacks | Alloy Therapeutics
Old Glory DC | Cuisine Solutions
Rugby ATL | Barbour Orthopedics and Spine

## See also

[edit]

* United States Rugby Players Association
* Women's Premier League Rugby — Women's top competition in the U.S.
* PRO Rugby — a professional rugby competition in the U.S. that played only one season in 2016 before folding
* Rugby Super League — predecessor to PRO Rugby and highest level rugby competition in the U.S. from 1997 to 2012
* Super Rugby Americas — professional rugby competition played predominantly in South America, featuring teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the United States.
* Rugby union in the United States
* History of rugby union in the United States
* College rugby
* North American Rugby League (NARL)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Sometimes USMLR or MLRugby is used.
2. ^ The Gold Mine is in Metairie, Louisiana, a census-designated place in the New Orleans metropolitan area.[48]
3. ^ Snapdragon Stadium is located on the campus of San Diego State University at SDSU Mission Valley.[50]
4. ^ Starfire Stadium is in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, Washington.[52]
5. ^ Zions Bank Stadium is in Herriman, Utah, located within the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.[53]
6. ^ Competed as Glendale Raptors in 2018 and 2019.
7. ^ Competed as Austin Elite in 2018 and 2019.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Major League Rugby Commissioner Killebrew Steps Down". Major League Rugby. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
2. ^ "Major League Rugby Releases 2023 Season Schedule". Major League Rugby. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
3. ^ "Major League Rugby Releases 2022 Season Schedule". Major League Rugby. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
4. ^ "2020 MLR Collegiate Draft Summary". June 14, 2020.
5. ^ "MLR Draft Picks 2020". Major League Rugby.
6. ^ "2020 Major League Rugby Draft Application and Useful Athlete Info". USA Rugby. May 6, 2020.
7. ^ "Glendale Announces 2021 Colorado XO Team". January 22, 2021.
8. ^ "Utah Warriors Co-Founder to build Liberty Boys Academy - djcoilrugby". December 2, 2020.
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46. ^ "MLR, World Rugby, USA Rugby forge historic partnership". Major League Rugby. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
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## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Major League Rugby

Teams|

| Active Teams|

* Anthem Rugby Carolina
* Chicago Hounds
* Dallas Jackals
* Houston SaberCats
* Miami Sharks
* New England Free Jacks
* New Orleans Gold
* Old Glory DC
* Rugby Football Club Los Angeles
* San Diego Legion
* Seattle Seawolves
* Utah Warriors

|

Future teams|

* Nuevo León

Former teams|

* Austin Gilgronis
* Colorado Raptors
* LA Giltinis
* Rugby New York
* Toronto Arrows

By year|

| MLR seasons|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
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|

MLR championships|

* 2018
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* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Player transfers|

* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24

Collegiate Draft|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

See also|

| MLR Virtual|

* 2020

|

* v
* t
* e

Rugby union in the United States

Governing body|

* USA Rugby

Geographical Unions|

* Capital
* Carolinas
* Empire
* Eastern Pennsylvania
* Florida
* Mid-America
* New England
* Northern California
* Pacific Northwest
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* True South

National teams|

| Men's|

* Eagles (Results)
* USA Falcons
* All Americans
* U-20
* U-19
* 7s

|

Women's|

* Women's
* 7s

Competitions|

| International|

* U.S. at the Rugby World Cup
* Americas Rugby Championship
* Global Rapid Rugby

|

Domestic|

* Major League Rugby
* Women's Elite Rugby
* Women's Premier League Rugby
* Premier Rugby Sevens
* USA Rugby Club 7s
* Midwest Rugby Premiership
* Pacific Rugby Premiership
* National Rugby Football League
* USA Club Rugby XVs

College|

| Bodies|

* NCR
* NIRA

|

Conferences|

* Colonial Coast
* East Coast
* Heart of America
* Ivy
* Northeast
* PAC
* Potomac
* Red River
* Southeastern

Competitions|

* Division 1-A
* Results
* NCR Champions Cup
* NCR Nationals
* Collegiate Championship (7s)
* USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships (7s)

Hosted events|

* 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
* Americas Rugby Championship
* USA Sevens
* USA Women's Sevens

Defunct|

| International|

* Churchill Cup
* North America 4
* Pacific Rim Championship
* PARA Pan American Championship

|

Club|

* Elite Cup
* PRO Rugby
* Rugby Super League

College|

* Atlantic Coast League
* Bowl Series
* Varsity Cup

Related articles|

* American flag rugby
* History
* First match
* International players
* Comparison with American football
* Rugby union in American Samoa
* Rugby union in Guam
* Rugby union in the US Virgin Islands
* Stanford rugby teams (1906–17)
* USA Rugby South

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Rugby union in Canada

Governing body|

* Rugby Canada

Provincial unions|

* Alberta
* British Columbia
* Manitoba
* New Brunswick
* Newfoundland and Labrador
* Nova Scotia
* Ontario
* Prince Edward Island
* Québec
* Saskatchewan

National teams|

| Men's|

* Canada
* 7s
* A
* U-20

|

Women's|

* Canada
* 7s

Competitions|

| International|

* World Cup
* Americas Rugby Championship
* IRB Pacific Nations Cup
* Pacific Rugby Cup
* Rugby World Cup Sevens
* Sevens World Series
* Commonwealth Games
* Pan American Games
* Nations Cup

|

Hosted events|

* Canada Sevens
* Canada Women's Sevens

Defunct|

| International|

* Churchill Cup
* North America 4
* Pacific Rim Championship

|

Domestic|

* Canadian Rugby Championship
* Rugby Canada Super League
* Rugby Canada National Junior Championship

Related articles|

* International players
* Test matches
* Pacific Pride
* Vancouver Highlanders

* v
* t
* e

Top-level rugby union club competitions

Tier 1 nations|

| European cups|

* European Rugby Champions Cup
* European Rugby Challenge Cup
* Rugby Europe Super Cup

|

International|

* Super Rugby Americas
* Super Rugby Pacific
* United Rugby Championship

Domestic|

* Argentina
* Nacional de Clubes
* Torneo de la URBA
* Torneo del Interior
* Australia
* Australian Club Championship
* Provincial Club Competitions
* England
* Premiership
* Championship
* Premiership Rugby Cup
* RFU Championship Cup
* France
* Top 14
* Pro D2
* Championnat Fédéral Nationale
* Ireland
* All-Ireland League
* All-Ireland Cup
* Italy
* Serie A Elite
* Serie A Elite Cup
* Japan
* Japan Rugby League One
* Top Challenge League
* Top League Champions Cup
* All-Japan Rugby Football Championship
* New Zealand
* National Provincial Championship
* Heartland Championship
* Scotland
* Super 6
* Scottish Premiership
* 1872 Cup
* South Africa
* Currie Cup
* SA Cup
* Gold Cup
* Varsity Cup
* Wales
* Welsh Premier Division
* WRU Challenge Cup

Defunct|

* Anglo-Welsh Cup
* Australian Provincial Championship
* British and Irish Cup
* Campeonato Argentino
* Celtic Cup
* Challenge Yves du Manoir
* Continental Club Rugby League
* Coppa Italia
* European Rugby Continental Shield
* Global Rapid Rugby
* Irish Interprovincial Championship
* Japan Company Rugby Football Championship
* National Rugby Championship
* Pro14 Rainbow Cup
* RFU Knockout Cup
* Rugby Challenge
* Scottish Inter-District Championship
* South Pacific Championship
* Welsh–Scottish League

Other nations|

| Africa|

* Kenya

|

Americas|

* United States
* Brazil
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Hong Kong
* India
* Malaysia
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka

Europe|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Ukraine
* Central East Europe
* Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia

Oceania|

* Fiji
* Samoa
* Tonga

* v
* t
* e

Top-level professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada

Leagues|

| Men's|

* Baseball
* Basketball
* Cricket
* American football
* Canadian football
* Arena football (AF1
* IFL)
* Ice hockey
* Box lacrosse
* Field lacrosse
* Rugby league
* Rugby union
* Rugby sevens
* Soccer
* Indoor soccer
* Ultimate
* Volleyball

|

Women's|

* Baseball
* Basketball
* American football
* Ice hockey
* Ringette
* Rugby union
* Rugby sevens
* Soccer (NWSL
* USLS)
* Softball (WPF
* AFP
* AUSL)
* Ultimate (PUL
* WUL)
* Volleyball (PVF
* LOVB)

Others|

| Individual|

* American open-wheel car racing
* Athletics
* outdoor
* indoor
* Badminton
* Bowling
* Bull riding
* Chess
* men
* women
* Cycling
* road race
* time trial
* Figure skating
* Fencing
* Gymnastics
* artistic
* rhythmic
* Stock car racing
* Swimming
* nationals
* short course
* Golf
* PGA Tour
* Tennis
* Association of Tennis Professionals
* Women's Tennis Association
* X Games

|

Diverse|

* Major League Eating (MLE)
* Major League Gaming (MLG)

* USA
* Canada

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