And then there were eight: Miami Sharks exit piles on pain for Major League Rugby
The men's pro league was down by two last week and is now down another one — just days after the CEO of the latest team to go was honored and heralded hard work done
On Wednesday, news broke that the Miami Sharks will not play in Major League Rugby next year — news that reduces the US men’s professional league to just eight teams, after last week’s merger between San Diego Legion and RFC Los Angeles and withdrawal of the NOLA Gold.
Miami’s future was widely questioned last week. Questions now remain over the future of the Utah Warriors, as they seek new investment.
Last week, Warriors CEO Kimball Kjar was bullish about the chances of success, telling me for the Guardian, he and his team were “still committed to that vision of creating top-end professional rugby in North America … and we're working aggressively to continue on with supporting our partners in Major League Rugby.”
A week later, news of Miami’s exit was first reported by Matt McCarthy at MLR Weekly and confirmed to The National Maul by multiple other sources.
I understand Miami’s withdrawal was confirmed on Tuesday, after an initial ask to withdraw just for 2026 and potentially re-enter in 2027 was rejected by other owners. NOLA and Miami could re-apply for entry in the future.
This being US rugby, it wasn’t particularly surprising on Wednesday to go to the MLR website as the Miami news broke, and find it led by a profile of Miami CEO Milagros Cubelli, “the inaugural Major League Rugby Executive of the Year.”
That piece was published on Monday and is worth quoting from at length. Cubelli said:
“I’m very proud, not only of myself but of the entire Miami Sharks team.
“In sports, especially in rugby, any individual award is a result of the team.
“We all work so much. Even the other nominees and everyone involved, it’s a lot of work.
“I spoke to the people that nominated me, and what they said they saw in me was a lot of passion applied in an intelligent way.
“We are a new team at a starting level, so you have to be smart in how you use your resources.
“I have a strong background in entertainment and production, so I think I brought this experience to the Sharks to have a good gameday experience and an interesting, attractive brand.
“I’m proud and very happy. And I love to win.”
To give Cubelli credit, she acknowledged frankly that working to establish professional rugby in the US has never been and will never be an easy task.
She also said “one of the big successes of 2025” was that “We grew sponsorship revenue to almost 20 per cent.”
“We identified our strengths, and we found our identity,” Cubelli said.
“We are Miami, and we know who we are. We know we are fun and colorful. We know we are passionate. We know we have Latin DNA.
“There’s no secret sauce; it is a very hard job growing a sport, but we know our roots, love them, and want to connect with the community.
“That is something we did well, reaching out to the community and trying to bring new audiences to a fun experience at home games.”
Heralding Miami’s success in reaching the MLR play-offs for the first time, Cubelli added: “For me, it’s very pleasing to see (the players wanting to be part of the team). It pretty much means that all the time and love that we have put into this is paying off.
“It’s about people wanting to be part of this team from a player’s perspective, but also from a brand and commercial perspective.
“I don’t want to say it is passion. I think it’s more than passion. There are many people that love this club.
“There’s a professional rugby team in Miami that is doing things well, that is eager to share the fun of this sport with the people in the community. The doors are wide open.”
On Wednesday, those doors closed.
The eight remaining MLR teams are New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC, Anthem Carolina, Chicago Hounds, California Legion, Utah Warriors, Seattle Seawolves, and Houston SaberCats.
That would make for two four-team conferences, west and east.
Last week, MLR commissioner Nic Benson told me he thought the league could continue if reduced to seven teams, the number it started with in 2018. So did one team owner, speaking off the record. A reduction to seven teams remains a possibility, a league source said on Wednesday.
I’ve reached out to key stakeholders, including Cubelli, Benson, and players’ representatives. I’ll update this piece with responses if they arrive.
The links to the CEO profile piece appear to be broken. The link is https://www.majorleague.rugby/news/2025-mlr-executive-of-the-year-miami-sharks-ceo-milagros-cubelli
A really disappointing phase here. I’m naively hopeful that this is due to some clandestine dealing behind the scenes to convert RFCLA and Miami into the embryos of R360 franchises. It would be better for them to remain MLR for rugby’s sake in the US but I’m clutching onto any possibility that there might be a well-funded second life for these clubs in the near future.