MLR Down to seven after SaberCats withdraw

Club mentions $50 million in losses, league structure as issues.

Major League Rugby lost another club for 2026 as the Houston SaberCats, last season’s Western Conference Champions, announced their withdrawal from the 2026 season. In a statement to KHOU-TV, the SaberCats announced that they have lost “more than $50 million” over the years and a difference of opinion on the “changes we believe are needed for the league’s growth and sustainability.”

This leaves MLR with just seven teams for 2026:  New England Free Jacks, Chicago Hounds, Old Glory FC, Utah Warriors, Seattle Seawolves, California Legion (a merger of San Diego Legion and RFCLA), and Anthem FC of Charlotte. Earlier this summer, NOLA Gold and the Miami Sharks announced their withdrawals for 2026.

The league in its eight-year history has seen teams come and go, but to essentially lose four teams from 2025 makes one question the long-term health of the league. It is definitely not ideal considering the USA is supposed to host the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the current Eagles face Samoa on Sunday in Colorado for a chance at qualifying for the 2027 edition in Australia.

After a period of growth for the game in the 2010s in both Sevens and 15s to a lesser extent, Rugby in this country has experienced more than few setbacks from the pandemic, to missing out on the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup, to recent struggles in the Rugby Sevens series. Much like US Soccer in the buildup to the 1994 FIFA Men’s World Cup, USA Rugby need to take several steps to ensure that they are a but more professional in their structure as 2031 approaches.

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