league, the Cosmos wanted to invest that money in the club's infrastructure. To that end, the Cosmos submitted plans to the state of New York to build a stadium near Belmont Park in 2012, but four years later, the Cosmos and three other bidders have yet to hear back from the state's Empire Development Corp. to see which proposal will get approved.

"O'Brien's vision is media, television rights, and with the Cosmos being a global brand, he saw the club as being at the forefront of that," said the source. "That's where he saw the future, so for him, the USL is just not an option. No second-division league in this country has ever been on TV. It just doesn't happen.

"That's why the big issue for them was [theof the NASL was formed out of a split among teams in the USL. A hybrid league existed for the 2010 season, before the NASL emerged as a standalone entity for the 2011 campaign, and it positioned itself in direct competition with MLS.

The league was much more decentralized, had no salary cap, and began competing with MLS for players. That strategy proved to be unsuccessful, as there was always the threat that MLS would start poaching the NASL's best franchises. The Montreal Impact, part of the NASL's inaugural season in 2011, had already committed to joining MLS. Minnesota United will now follow suit next season.

Another NASL team, the San Antonio Scorpions, positioned itself as an MLS candidate, but the team folded in 2015, and its stadium was sold,