NASHVILLE - With the conclusion of this year’s Audi MLS Cup Final on Dec. 12, the 2020 Major League Soccer offseason begins.
With many mechanisms and windows at their disposal, MLS GMs, including Nashville SC’s own Mike Jacobs, have many different ways to retool their rosters and acquire new players. Here’s an overview of how the next few weeks of the offseason will look.
Dec. 13: Half-Day Trade Window
Currently, all MLS clubs are under a roster freeze that began when the latest transfer window closed on Oct. 29. The freeze will be lifted on Dec. 13 starting at 8 a.m. CT and will run for four hours until Noon CT. Once the window closes, rosters will once again be frozen in anticipation of the Expansion Draft later in the week.
Dec. 14: Expansion Draft Lists Released
Austin FC is entering the league in 2021 and will have the chance to select up to five players in the MLS Expansion Draft.
Each club can protect 12 players who will be exempt from selection in the Expansion Draft. The 10 clubs that had players picked in the 2019 Expansion Draft by Nashville or Inter Miami CF are exempt from this draft. Those clubs are: New York City FC, FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles Football Club, Columbus Crew SC, Seattle Sounders FC, Minnesota United FC, Portland Timbers, New England Revolution, Atlanta United, and Sporting Kansas City.
At 9 a.m. CT on Dec. 14, the list of players eligible for selection in the draft will be released.
Generation adidas players who have not been “graduated” at the end of the 2020 season and Homegrown Players (ages 25 and under –born in or after 1995) on a club’s roster at the end of the season are automatically protected and do not count towards the 12-player protected list.
Clubs with four or more international players must protect at least three international players, excluding any automatically protected players. If a club has only three international players, it must protect two. If a club has only two international players, it must protect one. A club that has only one international player is not required to protect that player.
Click here to learn more about the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft rules and procedures.
Dec. 15: MLS Expansion Draft
Austin FC will make its five selections from existing MLS rosters at 5 p.m. CT on Dec. 15. Once a player is selected from a club’s unprotected list, that club is eliminated from the Draft and may not lose any more players. The club will also received $50,000 in General Allocation Money from the league and will be exempt from next year’s Expansion Draft.
In addition to picking players for its own roster, Austin FC has the ability to select players from existing rosters that can then be traded to other clubs once the roster freeze is lifted following the Draft. During Nashville’s draft in 2019, the club selected five players, traded two of them and ended up with a total of six new players on the night. One of those trades involved sending Expansion Draft pick Zarek Valentin to Houston Dynamo FC in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Willis.
Dec. 16: End-Of-Year Waivers and Free Agency Begin
These two processes begin at the same time at Noon CT on Dec. 16. Free Agents are players who are out-of-contract and option-declined players who are at least 24 years old and who have completed a minimum of five service years. The list of free agents will be released on Dec. 14.
End-Of-Year Waivers consist of players who do not meet the minimum requirements for Re-Entry Process or Free Agency. The waiver order is set in reverse order of finish in the 2020 season. Austin FC will occupy the 27th spot.
Click here for the full list of free agency rules and end-of-year waiver rules.
Dec. 17: Re-Entry Process Stage 1
The Re-Entry Process will take place over two stages, with the first happening on Dec. 17. The process includes players who are at least 22 years old, have a minimum of one service year, and their contract options were not exercised by their clubs or they did not receive a bona fide offer. The selection order will also be in reverse order of the 2020 season finish, with Austin FC occupying the 27th spot.
Last year, Nashville SC selected Eric Miller in Stage One of the Re-Entry Process.
Dec. 22: Re-Entry Process Stage 2
The second stage of the Re-Entry Process will take place five days later with the exact same selection order. While the qualifications for players in the second stage of the process remains the same, not all unselected Stage 1 players will be available for selection as players may re-sign with their previous club between stages or may opt out of the process.
Click here for the full rules and procedures for the Re-Entry Process.
