What the European Super League means for American soccer fans

What does this mean for fans — particularly American fans of big European clubs?

It's not a done deal yet. The European Court of Justice ruling allows for the creation of the Super League, but it certainly doesn't insist upon it. FIFA has many tools in its arsenal to delay or suspend the new league.

Many big teams will reject it in the coming hours but not all of them. Germany's Bundesliga, famous for its fan ownership and rejection of big-money moves, has no interest in competing in the breakaway Super League. Fans of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, et al, will be unaffected by this news in the short term.

Spanish club Atletico de Madrid also rejected the Super League, claiming "the European football family does not want the Super League."

The Premier League, though, is a bit more complicated. While it announced that it "continues to reject any such concept," it also pledged to "continue to engage in open and constructive dialogue." That means we won't know how the Premier League clubs will react until the situation has developed further.

The proposed Super League protects the interests of big clubs — literally. Leaked details about the Super League show that founding teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus will be shielded from the impact of poor performance while "smaller" clubs will have to fight even harder to earn the same privileges. In the current Champions League, clubs must finish in the top spots of their domestic leagues to qualify. In the proposed Super League, historical "top" clubs will be largely freed of that obligation.

For context, think about Newcastle United and Chelsea. Newcastle finished in the Premier League's top four last season and earned a spot in the Champions League while Chelsea finished 12th and did not. In the Super League model, it would be Chelsea earning a European spot because of its "heritage" while Newcastle would have to finish in the top four consistently to earn the same place back.

It's a model that serves one main purpose: keeping the biggest European clubs from losing money due to poor performance.

Free for fans is never free. International fans will rejoice at the concept of free games live on streaming, but take that announcement with the skepticism it deserves. "Free" could well mean "free with extensive advertising," and it could also mean "free for a season as the Super League determines what it really wants to charge."