Chicago Fire FC Announces Protected Players Ahead of 2024 MLS Expansion Draft

December 10, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release

CHICAGO - Chicago Fire FC today announced its list of protected players in advance of the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft.

Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 9:30 p.m. CT, the Expansion Draft will provide San Diego FC with an opportunity to select up to five players in advance of its inaugural MLS campaign in 2025. The 2024 MLS Expansion Draft will be streamed live on SanDiegoFC.com.

The following Chicago Fire players are exempt from selection in the Expansion Draft:

Protected Players (12): midfielder Kellyn Acosta, forward Tom Barlow, forward Hugo Cuypers, defender Jonathan Dean, defender Andrew Gutman, midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie, forward Georgios Koutsias, midfielder Chris Mueller, midfielder Federico Navarro, midfielder Mauricio Pineda, defender Tobias Salquist, defender Carlos Terán

Homegrown Exempt Players (7): forward Victor Bezerra, goalkeeper Chris Brady, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr., defender Justin Reynolds, forward Missael Rodríguez

The following players are available for selection:

Unprotected Players (12): defender Allan Arigoni, defender Rafael Czichos, goalkeeper Bryan Dowd, goalkeeper Jeff Gal, defender Chase Gasper, midfielder Gastón Giménez, midfielder Fabian Herbers, midfielder Ariel Lassiter, defender Wyatt Omsberg, goalkeeper Spencer Richey, defender Arnaud Souquet, midfielder Laurence Wootton

The Expansion Draft eligible player list includes players from 29 MLS Clubs. All 29 Clubs had the opportunity to protect up to 12 players from their roster. Once one player has been selected from a team's unprotected roster, that team cannot lose any further players. Generation adidas players who occupy Roster Slots 21-24 and Homegrown Players 25 years old and under are automatically protected.

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