This presentation looks at two things: MLS team payroll compared to points earned, and the current 2025–26 Premier League standings.
The main question is whether spending more money leads to winning more games.
MLS: Points Per Million (PPM)
PPM stands for points per million dollars spent. A higher PPM means a team got more points for less money. The table below shows the top 10 MLS teams sorted by this metric.
Rank
Team
Points
Payroll
PPM
1
Philadelphia Union
66
$13.4M
4.94
2
Minnesota United
58
$13.8M
4.20
3
Vancouver Whitecaps
63
$15.8M
3.99
4
New York City FC
56
$15.0M
3.74
5
Charlotte FC
59
$17.1M
3.44
6
Columbus Crew
54
$16.4M
3.30
7
Orlando City
53
$16.4M
3.22
8
San Diego FC
63
$20.0M
3.14
9
Austin FC
47
$15.3M
3.07
10
Real Salt Lake
41
$13.4M
3.06
More Spending ≠ More Points
San Diego FC had the highest payroll at $20 million but only ranked 8th in PPM. Philadelphia Union spent $6.6 million less and had the best PPM in the dataset.
This shows that spending more does not always lead to better results.
Team
Payroll
Points
PPM
Philadelphia Union
$13.4M
66
4.94
San Diego FC
$20.0M
63
3.14
Premier League 2025–26: Top 5
The 2025–26 Premier League season is 24 games in. Arsenal is in first place with 53 points, but Aston Villa is only 7 points behind. The title race is still very close.
#1 Arsenal 53 pts · 16W
#2 Man City 47 pts · 14W
#3 Aston Villa 46 pts · 14W
#4 Man United 41 pts · 11W
#5 Chelsea 40 pts · 11W
Takeaways
Both datasets point to the same conclusion: spending more money does not guarantee better results.
Philadelphia Union had the best PPM in MLS despite not having the highest payroll.
San Diego FC spent the most but ranked 8th in efficiency.
In the Premier League, Arsenal leads but Man City and Aston Villa are close behind with 14 games left.
Neither league has a clear winner yet.
Thanks for Reading
Soccer Stats: MLS & Premier League Created by Sy Rosenblatt
#1 Arsenal
#2 Man City
#3 Aston Villa
#4 Man United
#5 Chelsea