In 1994, newly established Major League Soccer announced it would place one of its charter franchises in the Tampa Bay Area.

[3] The Mutiny were owned and operated by MLS along with two other teams, the Dallas Burn and the San Jose Clash, with the league hoping eventually sell the franchises to private local owners.

[4] The team managed strong signings in 1995, including Carlos Valderrama, Roy Lassiter, and Martín Vásquez.

[5] They were successful in their first two years, particularly in 1996, when they won the first Supporters' Shield with the best regular-season finish behind Most Valuable Player Carlos Valderrama and Golden Boot winner Roy Lassiter.

In 2001, Tim Hankinson was fired, but struggles continued with successors Alfonso Mondelo and Perry Van der Beck.

[9] In 2001, the Mutiny had the worst record in MLS with only four wins in twenty-seven matches on the season and drew an average attendance of under 11,000 per game, among the league's lowest.

[10] Faced with financial losses up to $2 million a year, MLS courted Malcolm Glazer and his family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League team, to purchase the Mutiny.

While Major League Soccer has not had a team in the Tampa Bay area since the folding of the Mutiny, a preseason game on February 14, 2025 between the two current Florida teams Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF at Raymond James Stadium was the first MLS game in the area since 2001.