The NWSL on Wednesday announced procedures for the upcoming NWSL Expansion Draft, presented by Ally, for new teams in Utah and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The expansion draft is set for 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 15, with CBS Sports Network airing the proceedings.
Here’s a quick rundown of the expansion draft rules:
- The expansion draft will consist of 12 rounds, with Bay and Utah each allowed to select up to 12 players. The new teams may not pull more than two players from the other NWSL clubs.
- Bay has the first pick in the expansion draft, and the clubs will alternate selections after that.
- Racing Louisville and the other 11 current NWSL teams must submit their protected and unprotected players list by Dec. 12. That list will be publicly announced and, of course, sent to Bay FC and Utah Royals FC.
- Each team may protect nine players. Current clubs may also trade players, allocation money and/or other assets for “protection” in the expansion draft in return for a guarantee from the involved expansion team that it will not select an unprotected player from the incumbent team’s list.
- Any unprotected players are available for selection by the expansion teams, expect for unsigned unrestricted or restricted free agents. These free agents are eligible to sign with the expansion teams through the league’s free agency process starting Nov. 20. For reference, Racing’s current unrestricted free agents are Jess McDonald and Nadia Nadim and current restricted free agents include Taylor Aylmer and Emina Ekic. (Read this for more on the NWSL free agency rules.)
- Under-18 players cannot be selected in the expansion draft. Racing Louisville does not currently roster any U18 players.
For more information on the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft, presented by Ally, you can reference the league’s landing page.
