Why hasn't there been a new major sports league?
45 comments
·November 8, 2025an0malous
freedomben
Tfa directly addresses LoL.
> LoL Esports: loses hundreds of millions of dollars annually, exists solely as a marketing mechanism to get people to play the actual game
JohnFen
He did mention them.
> The three leagues with even an argument for being not total failures are the NWSL, League of Legends Esports (LoL Esports), and LIV Golf. All have unique advantages over their counterparts, and yet none of them are profitable today or even on a very convincing path toward profitability.
walthamstow
The popularity of the English Premier League in the US is a factor not considered anywhere in the piece.
itsdavesanders
Probably because it’s not a “US league?”
I might consider F1 in that case as it has gained in popularity a lot, and technically it’s owned by a U.S. company, but I’d never think of it as a U.S. league.
cogogo
I think OP’s point is that the demand is being met elsewhere. The Premier League has exploded in popularity in the US because of accesible TV. It is easier than ever to watch foreign sports and you do not have to deal with local blackout garbage.
augusto-moura
3 of the listed leagues were created in the 90s (MLS, UFC and WNBA), even though they are from the previous century I would categorize them much closer to modern times. 30 years difference is not that big of a gap. UFC in specific just got real attention in the last 15 years or so
clarle
I think F1 got significantly more popular in the past few years with Drive to Survive on Netflix, and then most recently with the F1 movie on Apple TV.
It’s a sports league with history and has been around for a while, but I think significant popular mindshare only happened in the last 5 years.
phpnode
Popular mindshare in the US in the last 5 years - outside the US it has been huge for decades
1970-01-01
Are they just going to gloss over Twitch and video gaming like that? I'm fairly sure it qualifies if you don't specifically exclude their online only influence.
morkalork
ESports is a sizeable chunk of the article?
1970-01-01
And yet it's not a "new major sports league" ?
LocalH
There's a weird perception that's floating out there claiming that video gaming cannot be "a sport", just because it's more mental than physical (although even that varies per game, for example high-level Guitar Hero players require extreme endurance and stamina). I also would wager a non-zero percentage of people with such mindset would also deny that chess is a sport, unless they grandfather it in due to the sheer age of chessdom.
It doesn't help that there is a partially overlapping mindset that believes that video games are for kids, something to grow out of. Since the vast majority of competitive gamers at the extreme top end are young adults, that theory is incorrect, but those who happen to be in the center of that Venn diagram would probably also deny that successful Twitch streamers have a "real job", etc.
jkafjanvnfaf
"Esports" is not a league. That would be like saying "sports" is a league.
There are leagues around some games (like the ones mentioned in the article). There are also events with "league" in the name that are not really leagues (like ESL Pro League). In any case, none of them are financially successful in the US.
vitus
Not by $$$, which is the main focus of the article.
In the second table, LoL esports is explicitly highlighted as a success by mindshare, but not profitability. And below that:
> LoL Esports: loses hundreds of millions of dollars annually, exists solely as a marketing mechanism to get people to play the actual game
frankdenbow
Overtime exists: https://overtime.tv/
Unrivaled only launched last year but its going well and I believe going to be a powerhouse in the womens basketball market as well: https://www.unrivaled.basketball/
5555624
> Fans only want to watch the very best players. Without TV money, new leagues can’t match salaries, and cannot attract top talent.
Is there enough "top talent" to fund a new league? Take American football: there are more players in high school, than college, because the game gets faster and better; the same goes from college to the NFL. The game changes, too; so. success in college doe not mean success in the NFL. There have been 88 Heisman Trophy winners; but, only 10 have made the NFL Hall of Fame. (The only two-time Heisman Trpohy winner is not one of those ten.)
Did (DO) the XFL and AAF have "top talent"? These were players who were not good to get drafted by the NFL. Sure, some players have from the XFL to NFL; but, that makes the XFL more like a minor league or developmental league -- a notch lower.
fruitplants
Indian Premier League (Cricket) is not a US league. Some reasons mentioned in the post apply to IPL. And IMO some don't (nerdy billionaires). There's even an acquired.fm episode on it. https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/indian-premier-league-crick...
"So successful in fact that it is the fastest growing major sports league in the world, growing 20x in value since 2008 to be worth more than $16 billion today."
Yossarrian22
I personally prefer padel or spec tennis but pickleball seems to be getting attention
jleyank
What significant college/HS level sport is not already producing people for a league-based game? Yeah, they can get women's alternatives, which lead to some exciting play, but I can't think of a sport that's not already covered.
megaloblasto
Looks like they missed Major League Cricket (MLC) founded in 2023
andrefuchs
Indoor football (soccer) leagues like the Kings League and Baller League have significant potential to become major players.
They are reported to generate between 50 and 100 million in revenue per season already.
There has been, the esports leagues. The viewership on the LoL championship game had a larger viewership than then Super Bowl.