Buffalo Bid Offers Major League Rugby a Way Back as League Shrinks to Five Teams
Buffalo could get a rugby team again. Major League Rugby (MLR), the professional union competition in the United States, has signed a letter of intent with a group that wants to bring a franchise to the New York city for entry in 2028. A letter of intent is an early agreement to explore a deal. It is a first step, not a final contract.
The league is in a far smaller place than it was. MLR was formed in 2018, and by 2022 it supported 13 teams. In 2025, clubs in Utah, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston and New Orleans dropped out. The 2026 season was played with six teams, and The Guardian reports that the league will play with five in 2027. Anthem RC, the Charlotte, North Carolina side backed by World Rugby, will not return.
Seattle Seawolves are the only remaining founding member. They won the league's championship in 2018 and again in 2019, and they are the only club left from that first group.
Behind the Buffalo bid is a familiar name in Canadian rugby. Mark Winokur, formerly chief operating officer of the Toronto Arrows, is involved with the Buffalo Thunderbolts project, alongside Joe DiPasquale. Canada has had no MLR team since the Arrows left the league in 2023. The Buffalo group has been named an MLR 2028 Expansion Candidate.
The league's own announcement describes the letter as the first of three major steps in its expansion process. MLR is currently in talks with 17 groups about future expansion. Co-president Alex Magleby said the league hopes six of those groups will enter a formal bid process ahead of the 2028 season, and that three will be chosen.
The longer goal is ambitious. MLR wants to return to 12 teams by 2031, and it wants a club in every city that hosts a Rugby World Cup. That second point matters because the World Cup, the sport's flagship tournament, is staged in host cities that change from one edition to the next. Having a league presence in each one would give the competition a footprint across the country.
For a fan in Buffalo, the step is simple to picture. A local side could take the field in a few seasons, with players, a home ground and a place in the league table. Whether the group can meet the league's requirements, and whether the three remaining steps go smoothly, is still open. The league has lost clubs quickly before, so the next two stages will show how solid this plan is.
What is clear is the direction. After a difficult run of exits, MLR is trying to rebuild by choosing carefully, rather than by rushing to fill a long list of places.
