Charlotte FC is picking in the MLS expansion draft tonight. Here’s how it works
For the first time since 2004 — when the Charlotte Hornets were the Charlotte Bobcats — a new major professional sports team in the city will participate in an expansion draft.
Charlotte FC on Tuesday will select up to five players from other Major League Soccer teams to add to its inaugural roster. The team’s squad currently has 11, most of whom are international players new to MLS.
The expansion draft will provide Charlotte with an opportunity to add MLS experience and fill in positional gaps before finalizing a 30-man roster ahead of its first match Feb. 26, 2022.
How the MLS expansion draft will work for Charlotte FC
Charlotte FC will have many fewer picks than an expansion NBA or NFL team, as is consistent with league rules in recent years. Starting in 2016, MLS cut the number of selections for expansion teams in half to five, awarding General Allocation Money (GAM) to the clubs in lieu of lost picks.
Charlotte FC will receive an unspecified amount of GAM from the league as part of the expansion draft process, consistent with prior rules. GAM is a league-wide roster-building mechanism that can be exchanged in trade deals and used to buy down player salary budget charges. Teams that have a player selected from their unprotected roster will also receive $50,000 in GAM.
MLS released the list of 258 players from the 22 clubs eligible for selection on Monday. That list includes designated players for other teams, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Charlotte will make a move for them. Additionally, the club could select a player then make a trade with another club in exchange for allocation money for that player’s contract.
“Historically, teams have seemed to gravitate toward the ‘value plays’ type of player, with an emphasis on those who don’t require an international slot,” noted MLS soccer writer Tom Bogert about expansion draft selections.
Charlotte FC will have three minutes to make each selection without timeouts during the live draft and the club won’t face competition from other selecting teams, as it’s the only expansion team joining the league next year.
The San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, LA Galaxy and Orlando City SC are exempt from having a player selected this year since Austin FC selected a player from each of those teams during last year’s expansion draft.
Once Charlotte FC selects a player from an eligible team’s unprotected roster, it may no longer select another player from that team during the expansion draft.
If Charlotte FC selects a free agent, it will gain that player’s previous club’s ability to negotiate a new contract in line with the collective bargaining agreement. If the team selects a supplemental or reserve player, that player must be offered a senior poster position and remain there through the roster compliance date.
Charlotte FC will be able to renegotiate a selected player’s salary without having to place that player on waivers or giving his prior team a right of first refusal, according to the league’s expansion draft rules.
The selection process should be fairly efficient, as the club received the unprotected player lists prior to the league’s release Monday and its front office would be working in advance to negotiate potential trade deals that could send a selected player elsewhere for allocation money.
The expansion draft will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on WSOC-TV and WAXN in English and Telemundo Charlotte in Spanish. A live stream of the event will also be available on the team’s website at charlottefootballclub.com.
