MLR's Future: Should US Collegiates Aspire to Play Pro?

01.12.2026Men Senior Rugby

Action from the 2024 MLR Rising game. Is this type of thing worth a player's time? Alex Goff photo.

Author: Alex Goff

When Goff Rugby Report launched in June of 2014 we committed to reporting on High School, College, and Eagles, but left the senior club environment alone.

At that time there was no professional league.Then one popped up, lasted a year, and then Major League Rugby came along. The original Pro Rugby failed not because of the players or the coaches or those who embraced it, but rather failed due to how it was run and the personalities involved there.

Happy Families?

Major League Rugby showed up with a new model, not a central ownership but a an ownership model where the teams sank or swam on their own, but also paid into the league as part owners of the league. That made sense, except when you say sink or swim … sometimes teams sink. And we’ve seen that. New York, Toronto, Dallas, Glendale, Miami, Austin, Dallas again, New Orleans, LA … all have left, all for differing reasons.

As Tolstoy wrote: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

The happy families remain in MLR and in here Tolstoy isn’t entirely correct, as Anthem is funded by World Rugby and therefore their financial viability (which is a big part of the happiness quotient here) is measured somewhat differently than the other teams.

But, the other teams generally have a fan base, local investment, local players, and a manageable venue. Seattle, California Legion, DC, Chicago, Utah, and New England remain and they remain in part because what makes them a happy family is a workable formula.

The Main Question

Last week GRR sat down with Alex Magleby, New England Free Jacks co-founder and now MLR co-president to talk about the future of the league and to answer this pressing question:

What should GRR tell college and high school players about the prospect of playing in MLR? At GRR World Headquarters, that’s our biggest concern—do we tout the league for college players or not?

The short answer is, yes, playing in the league is a viable goal, Magleby believes MLR is a viable target for talented college players. Key to this point is a new limit on foreign players. Now the limit is seven (at least one team wanted five, but seven was the consensus number). Non-foreign players are players who qualify to play for the USA. Canadians are now foreign.

So on any gameday roster, 16 of the 23 must be USA qualified.

Percentage-wise, this makes a big difference for college players. who were facing rosters where half the players were not American or USA-qualified, and now two-thirds will be.

But a quick look at new signings through MLR shows this:
Out of four teams (nothing announced by Legion and Anthem is its own animal):
43 new signings 17 are foreign, and 26 USA-qualified.
Of those 26 USA-qualified, 13 played college rugby in America, three either played high school rugby or were American citizens crossing over from another sport, and eight were players who qualify for the USA but grew up and learned their rugby overseas.

Of those eight who grew up outside the USA, five have been capped.

If we look at those 13 American college players, we see the elite of the elite—two Scholz Award winners, a Scholz Runner-up, capped Eagles, high draft picks. It is very difficult to break into that level.

But it can be done.

And, as Magleby points to, it has to be done.

Strong Eagles Mean Strong MLR

“There’s an argument to be made that the 2031 Rugby World Cup can be a life-changing event for rugby in the USA. If fans go to the games and if the men’s USA team does well, we could see a boost in the sport akin to the 1994 and 2010 FIFA World Cups in North America. Ultimately, we think that a strong USA Men’s National Team is good business.”

And to accomplish that, you need young American players playing in the league.

But there’s more.

“Another argument to be made is that a local son is good business. And you add to that the aspirational aspect, where the pathway of high school to college to academy to pro, if done well, is inspiring.”

All of that leads to a key piece of the puzzle in Major League Rugby. For years owners and teams have focused on winning rugby games. But, really, “we’re in the entertainment business,” said Magleby. “I’m responsible for creating a vision where all the ownership is happy and will be happy in 10 years. One of the focuses is to bring fans to the league.”

Now, there’s a lot that goes into that, and we at GRR will be posting a series on what Magleby said about a lot of this: Academy teams, what products MLR teams can offer, the new ownership and league membership model (yes, it has changed), and how they plan to attract fans.

For this piece, we’re focusing on the college and talented high school players. When you look at a six-team league, first of all you, and the league as a whole, see a very competitive league. Every team will have access to good players. A 10-game season will be tight, competitive, and tough.

It also means there are only about 240 roster spots available, and while there will be some turnover, even a rather larger 25% turnover means only 60 roster spots open.

However, with teams perhaps figuring out their academy processes, and working with clubs in their markets, there can be room for young players to continue to develop their game (that’s the HS-College-Academy-Pro model Magleby mentions) and become professionals and even internationals.

So there is room for young American players; you just have to be completely dedicated to it.

What About the Money?

The narrative that the players are just getting by financially is not correct, Magleby told GRR. And, to be fair, GRR has been a main purveyor of that narrative.

Players, said Magleby, are now making decent money. They’re not getting rich, but during the season they are paid a decent wage, and when you factor in food, transportation, and housing (which is everyone’s main expense list), what they are paid is actually a solid amount. Add in off-season income (non-rugby work, or rugby income as coaches or with the Eagles or something else), and an MLR player can do fine.

It’s not a terrible thing for the players to have off-season jobs. Up into the 1980s it was very common for pro baseball, football, basketball, and hockey players to have offseason jobs. Yeah, the stars were rich, but not everyone was.

Closer to home, we've spoken to MLR aspirants who are starting businesses, training for specific professionals, and building careers while chasing the rugby dream.

At the CRAA Fall Classic this past December, CRAA hired Anthem players as production crew, working the cameras and doing some content as well as setup and breakdown. That’s just one example.

So, Will GRR Be Recommending MLR to College Athletes?
Yes, yes we will, with the caveat that there are not a lot of seats at the table. Our advice that you pick a city where you want to live and work, and then work you way into the professional rugby sphere once you’re set up is still good advice.
But now, while the league has retracted, breaking into the league as an American may actually be a bit easier, and getting paid a reasonable amount of money may also be more attainable.

More to come in this series …