There are just too many teams for MLS

I think the list of MLS cities is up to 28 now with 3 more with a very good case for inclusion. That is too many teams for a soccer league.

The rest of the world has learned through experience that the top league should have 18 or 20 teams and lower level league that aren't supporting international windows and weekday cup competitions can support 24 teams and run an effective round robin.

For years I would have said no chance to promotion/relegation in the US because the owners have too much invested to agree to the risk. Now I have a hard time seeing how Garber can forever deem operations like Sacramento and San Antonio (and this year Cincinnati breaking all kinds of attendance records) Level 2 operations forever.

It is still more likely he will go the full NFL route with 32 teams in two divisions with some weird schedule where some teams don't actually play each other, but a Pro/Rel model with Tier 1 and Tier 2 put on equal financial footing (shared TV deal) seems like a better solution. I think soccer in American has proven that it works now because it is different than other American leagues. (They finally figured out playing their biggest playoff games on weeknights this year.) What could further entrench their uniqueness in the American sports world is having teams have to fight to keep their spot in the league.