In this week’s column, California Sports Lawyer® CEO and Managing Attorney Jeremy M. Evans evaluates the pathways for alternative sports leagues to build sustainable success despite structural and economic headwinds.
Having money to invest is not the only requirement to success.
You can read the full column below. (Past columns can be found, here).
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Starting a new sports league has always been a difficult task. History shows that start-up sports leagues have four common outcomes. The first is failure. The second is consolidation with an existing sports league (either as whole or for specific franchises). The third is success, which is the least likely result, particularly in the big five sports in the United States (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS).
A possible fourth option for upstart sports leagues is to survive in the margins. Meaning, starting a non-big five sport or becoming a feeder league like the UFL has become for the NFL (which is a combination of two former iterations of the USFL and two versions of the XFL). These sports find gaps in the market and end up defining the space.
Having money to invest is not the only requirement to success. Access to capital, influential leaders, and a strong market to succeed are essential. Once a league is developed, the individual franchises must follow the four tenets of success: greatness in personnel, venue, lease, and market. It is also true that antitrust helps to protect existing leagues along with salary caps, standard contracts for players, and television deals.
Most upstart leagues lack the standing power to survive. The history of the big five provides a story of ups and downs, but mainly staying alive and thriving. There was a time when the NBA was a very popular league, but it recently has descended in popularity to Major League Baseball with the NFL in the driver seat. MLS is growing significantly, especially since the league started in the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball has a major labor dispute being negotiated and on the horizon placing the 2027 season in jeopardy at one of the most popular times in the sports history.
Upstart sports leagues often struggle to replicate the “sports flywheel” (e.g., media rights, fan loyalty, and sponsorship). All three of those “wheels” require public and private investment into the new league. When comparing to LIV Golf, there was a plan for investment and success, but if the players leave or have dual loyalties to another competing league or governance (e.g., PGA), it creates a fragmented media landscape, lack of legacy fandom, and with high player acquisition costs, nearly impossible to survive long term.
Ultimately, launching a league is only the beginning. Sustaining it requires disciplined governance, alignment with investor expectations, and a clear economic model. Increasingly, sports are treated as an asset class, where value and competition must coexist. The likely future for alternative leagues is not outright disruption, but adaptation—through consolidation, strategic partnerships with established leagues, or niche positioning in the margins.
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About Jeremy M. Evans:
Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. An award-winning attorney and industry leader, Evans is based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.
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