At the State of the League address on December 6th, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber indicated that the existing February to October schedule for MLS could change in the future.

"I do think that we are considering more than ever before this opportunity to change, but it's not something that we're ready to talk about right now," Garber told reporters at the address. "The schedule does get more crowded. The summers, in particular June now, that has been taken up by most of the international tournaments."

In European leagues like the English Premier League and Serie A in Italy, seasons begin in August and run until the spring of the following year. This allows time in the summer for players to participate in tournaments like the UEFA European Championship or the FIFA Club World Cup. Traditional summer tournaments like the CONCACAF Gold Cup or the FIFA World Cup run concurrently with the MLS season, disrupting teams whose players may wish to appear for their home country during these months instead of their professional club.

On the Unfiltered Soccer podcast with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, the hosts discussed this possible change beginning in 2026 and the challenges here in the U.S.

"In the latter part of the [year]," Donovan explained, "you're going up head to head with the NFL which is a nightmare for every sport." The NFL regular season begins in September and runs through early January.

Another factor MLS will be considering is the weather. Teams in locations with intense winter seasons may worry about seeing a drop-off in live game attendance, but Donovan counters that "people have been coming out to Dallas and Houston with 103 degrees."

"Geographically, I've never, ever understood why more teams don't build their clubs around the weather," Howard added. "You should be building teams to be resilient to the weather, that way you automatically gain this horrific home field advantage."