The Utah Warriors are the latest Major League Rugby franchise to leave the competition. The Houston Sabrecats, the NOLA Gold, and the Miami Sharks all folded this summer.
Getty Images
Major League Rugby’s rollercoaster of an offseason continues. Just days after the Utah Warriors’ withdrawal from the league, today, MLR announced that it will be launching new ‘Sunday Night Rugby’ programming on ESPN+. The show will enhance the sport’s coverage on the “worldwide leader in sports,” and the hope is that rugby will own the Sunday night primetime sports space during the spring.
With MLR downsizing from eleven to six teams, there has been intense speculation from fans and media about the future of club rugby in the U.S. World Rugby is pouring over $250 million into American rugby in the lead-up to the 2031 Rugby World Cup, but has not shown signs that it will directly aid the domestic club competition. Meanwhile, a litany of international teams are scheduling premier match-ups in the U.S., gaining their own foothold in the American sports market as MLR continues to scrap for viewership.
Despite these concerns, Major League Rugby remains bullish that rugby will continue to grow in the U.S., both at the club and international level. The agreement with ESPN to give the sport its own Sunday night programming could enhance rugby viewership in the U.S. and provide the club competition a more stable footing moving forward.
Sunday Night Rugby
Sunday Night Rugby on ESPN+ will become standard programming throughout the 2026 MLR season. The elevated broadcast will include pre-match and post-match shows with a separate crew from the traditional play-by-play announcers at the venue.
Sunday Night Rugby will operate similarly to Inside the NBA, where the game is previewed in-studio by an expert crew of former players or coaches, and after the game, coverage will go back to the studio for post-match analysis.
Former San Diego Legion star and current technical director of MLR Will Hooley will be the studio host. At the time of writing, it is understood that the rest of the potential panelists are still being finalized, although there could be room for guest appearances.
ESPN and Major League Rugby are launching Sunday Night Rugby this spring.
Courtesy of Major League Rugby and ESPN
A yet-to-be-determined number of Sunday Night rugby games will also be aired on linear TV on ESPN2. The expectation is that Sunday Night Rugby will continue through at least some of the post-season.
While details remain limited, giving rugby elevated production value is critical to the viewing experience, as fans saw during the Ireland v All Blacks game in Chicago last week. The game at Soldier Field was built up as the biggest rugby game in the U.S. this year, yet it was littered with production issues. The All Blacks’ famous Haka was barely audible in the stadium or on TV due to microphone issues, and just two minutes into the game, fans in the stadium were unable to hear the refs’ decisions as yellow and then red cards were handed out. Meanwhile, fans at home were forced to watch a high-caliber game on a spray-painted field that was clearly unfit for the occasion.
The Utah Warriors’ Withdrawal from MLR
The U.S. was the envy of the rugby world last week as Chicago played host to the rematch between Ireland and the All Blacks. The game was also the backdrop of World Rugby’s host city meeting, in which 27 cities put forward their names to host 2031 Rugby World Cup matches.
Unfortunately, the hope and anticipation generated in Chicago quickly disappeared for Major League Rugby. On Tuesday, November 4th, the Utah Warriors announced they would not be participating in the 2026 MLR season.
The Warriors’ announcement is the latest issue in a turbulent summer for the league. According to Utah co-founder and CEO Kimball Kjar, the decision was made after a potential new ownership group altered its plans and pulled out of a deal that would have secured the Warriors’ future in MLR. Without additional funding, and due to “internal and external deadlines,” Kjar said, “we had to make the hard decision to withdraw from the league.”
“We were in the process of closing the deal with a new ownership group that was building a sports and entertainment group, with the Warriors as part of it,” Kjar told me via email. “Unforeseen circumstances caused this new ownership group to alter its earlier plans and to move away from building this sports and entertainment group altogether at the 11th hour. As such, they didn’t see the opportunity to own the Warriors as a viable stand-alone investment and, unfortunately, decided to back out of closing the deal at the last minute. We were looking forward to bringing this group into the MLR family.”
According to a league source, MLR was aware of the possibility that the Warriors might not be able to secure funding in time for the 2026 season. As such, league officials built contingency plans, scheduling a regular season with both six and seven teams. “It’s unfortunate, but not unexpected,” said the league source. Teams are currently reviewing scheduling options, and the 2026 schedule is expected to be released within the coming weeks.
The league’s statement regarding Utah’s decision is the following: “Major League Rugby is disappointed that Utah will be unable to participate, but our focus remains the same as we adapt to a changing landscape and prepare for the 2026 season.”
The Utah Warriors are withdrawing from Major League Rugby, but that is not a reflection on the sport’s popularity in the state or the country.
Getty Images
The league is confident that despite its contracted size, club rugby will continue to expand in the United States. Rumors continue to surface that potential investors have been in contact with the league about launching new clubs. Moreover, there is continued speculation that some of the clubs that left the league this summer could return in the future, albeit after buying back in.
Kjar clearly agrees with that sentiment. He told me “Professional rugby in Utah will be back in some form in the years to come…I’m just grateful to have helped lay some of the foundation for rugby’s growth in Utah and the U.S.”
Club rugby’s struggles in the United States are not an anomaly. In recent years, multiple clubs in the English Prem have folded, Super Rugby Pacific continues to draw weak crowds, and the Welsh Rugby Union is in the process of contracting its club game from four clubs to two.
Kjar says MLR’s difficult offseason is not a reflection of a lack of interest in the sport. Instead he says, “The commercial calculus of the sport, even in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, is just now starting to catch up to the modern sports and entertainment landscape.” Kjar was also adamant that “most Americans are rugby fans, but they don’t know it yet,” and that rugby can be the next big thing in the U.S. if those running the game deliver aligned commercial strategies and consistent product quality.
While the Utah Warriors may be no more, Kjar says they will continue to foster community rugby, delivering exciting initiatives and programming in youth and high school rugby. Moreover, he says he will back Utah’s bid to host Rugby World Cup matches in 2031.
The Warriors were one of MLR’s inaugural clubs, and consistently drew strong crowds. In 2024, their WarriorsFest game drew nearly 11,000 people, a season record. The Warriors finished last year’s regular season as the number one seed and fans were expecting them to do even better in 2026.
Still, optimism remains that not only will the league expand again in the future, but that the U.S. will be well prepared for 2031 and the biggest Rugby World Cup ever.