I have always been a hater of the MLS because the level of play is not comparable to that of European or South American leagues. However, while the play may be poor, the MLS has one positive aspect: jerseys.

When I was younger, I grew up supporting two teams: LA Galaxy and Manchester United. When I first started watching the teams, both were winning their respective leagues and dominating most teams they played. But for some reason, I was more drawn towards watching LA because they had better-looking jerseys.

The reason why LA had better jerseys is because of the way the MLS is structured. In 2004, the MLS signed a six year deal with Adidas for the rights to make the jerseys for all of the teams in the league.

This contract was renewed in 2010 and again in 2017. This deal is unlike other leagues because it forces each team to have its jerseys made by Adidas. In other leagues, the individual teams get to decide which company makes their jerseys. Although it may seem like it would not make a big difference, it is the sole reason why MLS jerseys are so cool.

In other leagues, brands have to compete against each other, so they usually make fairly bland designs to ensure that the company can expect very little backlash from fans and have more consistent sales. Because of the lack of competition in the MLS, Adidas can be more ambitious with jersey designs.

Over the years, Adidas has become more experimental with jerseys and has put out some outlandish designs. Most of these are either hit or miss. I personally love most of them because the designs are usually very unique and have some sort of meaning behind them. For example, one of my favorite jerseys released this year was D.C. United’s cherry blossom jersey to commemorate the famous cherry blossoms found in the nation’s capital.

The other reason why Adidas is able to experiment so much is that the MLS is still a relatively young league. Its first year was in 1996, and all teams were brand new along with the league. Since the teams do not have much history, they do not have any specific designs or styles that they have to repeat to continue the tradition. Adidas has the ability to attempt to create tradition by making very abstract and different-looking jerseys to give each team a tailored look.

Although jersey designs will continue to be altered over time, one thing will remain consistent in my personal views: the MLS has the best jerseys in the world.