“100%”—that was the term Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian used to emphasize how European leagues far surpass the MLS. And the American entrepreneur didn’t stop there. Taking a jab at the future of the U.S. men’s top-flight league, he insisted that even in the next 10 years, the landscape wouldn’t change, before surprisingly adding, “That is why I think the NWSL will be bigger than MLS in 10 years, because we can tell a story of excellence in women’s football in America.”
At the time, many dismissed Ohanian’s bold claim, even though it came from Serena Williams’ husband. But guess what? Those naysayers might want to take a closer look at the current scenario. Forget 10 years—it was last year in August that Ohanian made this bold claim during his appearance on the Seven Seven Six podcast, and less than a year later, the American women’s league is already on a trajectory that sees it outpacing the men’s.
It all comes from an interesting study shared by Togethxr on X—a media and commerce platform that promotes equal representation, co-founded by names like Jessica Robertson, Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Chloe Kim, and Simone Manuel. Interestingly, the tweet first compared the average viewership per game of both the NWSL and MLS. While the women’s league garners almost 189,000 viewers, the men’s game rakes in around 120,000.
Quite surprising, right? A mere 69,000 difference. But as it turns out, despite pulling in such high viewership numbers, it’s Major League Soccer that pockets more money compared to the National Women’s Soccer League. Well, do you recall the four-year broadcast deal worth $240 million that the Jessica Berman-led league signed with CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports back in 2024? The deal currently sees the NWSL pocketing $60 million per season, according to the math.
However, know that what the women’s competition is earning over that four-year tenure is what the current broadcasting deal sees Major League Soccer pocket each year—in fact, throw in an extra $10 million on top, as the men’s competition earns a whopping $250 million per year! Well, that’s also because MLS signed a 10-year lock-in agreement worth $2.5 billion with tech giants Apple back in 2022.
NWSL average viewership per game: 189,000
MLS average viewership per game: 120,000
The current NWSL media rights deal: $60 million per year
The current MLS broadcast deal: $250 million per year
The math is not mathin’
— TOGETHXR (@togethxr) July 25, 2025
No wonder “the math is not mathin’ .” Despite the NWSL pulling in higher viewership numbers than the MLS, it’s still the 1995-formed men’s soccer league that’s raking in significantly more revenue than the late-blooming women’s league, which only came into existence in 2012. It’s an unfortunate disparity—one that clearly highlights how inequalities continue to persist in the beautiful game, even when the numbers tell a different story.
Then again, the brighter side does showcase how remarkably the NWSL is ahead of the MLS in terms of viewership. Honestly, this isn’t the first time we have seen the men’s league failing in front of the ladies.
The NWSL outpacing the MLS isn’t exactly a new headline!
Take last year’s U.S. soccer league finals, for example. In the 2024 MLS season, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami may have dominated the regular season with a record 74 points, but they couldn’t reach the championship final. Instead, LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls faced off, with the Los Angeles side clinching the title in a 2-1 win. That match brought in just over 427,000 viewers on Fox Sports.
On the other hand, the NWSL final told a different story. Orlando Pride, after finishing first in the regular season, went up against second-place Washington Spirit in the championship match. The Pride edged out a narrow win and, more importantly, the game pulled in a massive 967,000 viewers on CBS.
Credits: X/NWSL
When you compare the two numbers—427K for the MLS and 967K for the NWSL—it’s clear the women’s final attracted 126% more viewers than the men’s. Of course, some might argue that the absence of Messi and Inter Miami in the MLS final affected its reach. Had they been in it, the viewership might have looked different.
But in reality, they weren’t—and the NWSL proudly stands as the more-watched finale. And again, yet another study proved that the women’s league is surely following just one motto: onwards and upwards!
The post MLS Fails to Match NWSL’s Staggering Numbers Despite Shocking $190 Million Media Gap appeared first on EssentiallySports.
