What is the Supporters' Shield? Previous winners and everything you need to know about the MLS trophy

As many people know, Major League Soccer operates differently than most other leagues in the world.

It's a league that includes a salary cap, Designated Players and a unique summer schedule, but perhaps the biggest difference is the focus on a playoff system.

In MLS, the postseason is king, with the winner of the MLS Cup recognized as the league's champions following a playoff tournament. Rather than a single-table, balanced format, MLS' focus is more Americanized, much like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

But there is still a prize for the league's best regular season team, a trophy given to the club that does finish atop the table when all is said and done: the Supporters' Shield.

But what is the Supporters' Shield? How did it come into existence? Who's won it and how?

GOAL has everything you need to know...

What is the Supporters' Shield?

When MLS was founded in 1996, there was no prize awarded for the top regular season team, who would receive only the top seed in the playoffs.

But, in 1997, Tampa Bay Mutiny fan Nick Lawrus proposed the idea of a "Supporters' Scudetto" to be awarded to the league's best regular season team, much like the league trophies won in leagues all over the world.

A committee was created, and the name was quickly changed to the Supporters' Shield, with the trophy becoming a reality by the 1999 season.

Previous winners Tampa Bay and D.C. United were inscribed on the new trophy, which has been given to the league's best regular season team ever since.

However, the trophy wasn't immediately recognized. Until 2006, the trophy was generally just a fan-led initiative, but that changed when U.S. Soccer decided that the Supporters' Shield winners would be given a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Who won the Supporters' Shield in 2022?

The 2022 Supporters' Shield was won by Los Angeles FC, who sealed their spot atop the MLS table with one game remaining in the MLS season.

Their triumph marks the second time they've won the trophy, having also claimed it in 2019.

In total, 15 different teams have won the trophy since its inception.

Full list of Supporters' Shield winners