MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Protects 11 Players in Advance of Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft

November 24, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SALT LAKE CITY (Monday, November 24, 2008) - Major League Soccer will hold the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. MT). The League's 15th team, Seattle Sounders FC, will begin to take shape following the 10-round draft, with each current squad able to lose a maximum of one player.

After building its roster through the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft, this marks the third consecutive year in which Real Salt Lake will be eligible to lose a player to an expansion team, this after the San Jose Earthquakes (2008) and Toronto FC (2007) made their MLS debuts during the recent two seasons. Philadelphia joins MLS in 2010.

Real Salt Lake's list of 11 players protected from Wednesday's draft includes:

Goalkeepers: Nick Rimando

Defenders: Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Robbie Russell, Chris Wingert

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson, Javier Morales

Forwards: Fabian Espíndola, Yura Movsisyan, Robbie Findley

In addition, as members of the Generation adidas youth development initiative, DF Tony Beltran, MF Alex Nimo, and GK Chris Seitz are automatically protected from selection in Wednesday's expansion draft.

Real Salt Lake also announced that a recent graduate of Generation adidas, DF Nikolas Besagno, as well fellow RSL original MF Kenny Cutler and developmental DF Dustin Kirby were released from the team's 28-man roster.

Listed below are the details regarding the League's Expansion Draft. Seattle may not claim more than one player from any given team in MLS, and four teams will not have a player taken in the expansion draft. At the conclusion of the Expansion Draft, results will be posted on MLSnet.com and teams may resume trading. For the full list of protected players from all 14 MLS teams, please visit www.MLSnet.com.

2009 MLS Expansion Draft Rules

Senior Roster

- Teams may protect 11 players between their Senior and their Developmental Roster.

- If the Player's contract expires at the end of 2008, he will still be considered part of the team's Senior Roster.

- If a team protects a player, it is not obligated to exercise the player's option. The team may renegotiate a new budget number for the player as in previous years.

- If a player retires, he will not be a part of the Senior Roster, but his team will lose its right of first refusal to him should he ultimately decide to play.

Developmental Roster

- Players on a team's Developmental Roster, other than Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the 2008 season, will be part of the expansion draft.

- Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the 2008 season are automatically protected (teams do not have to protect them).

- If Seattle Sounders FC select a Developmental Player they must offer him a Senior Roster position and he must be on Seattle's Senior Roster as of Roster Compliance Date.

International Players

- Teams are restricted in the number of international player(s) that they may make available per the table set forth below.

- For purposes of this expansion process, for U.S.-based teams, any non-domestic U.S. player would count as an International and for Toronto FC, any non-domestic U.S. player or non-domestic Canadian player would count as an International.

Designated Players

- Designated Players do not have to be protected unless the player has a no trade clause in which case he must be protected.

Maximum Player Loss

- Once a player has been claimed from a team's non-protected roster, that team is eliminated from the expansion draft and may not lose any further players.

Right to Renegotiate

- Seattle will have the right to renegotiate a drafted player's salary (either up or down) without having to place such player on waivers or giving his previous Team a right of first refusal.

Priority

- On the first day of the Discovery/Allocation Period, Seattle will have priority over players who played professionally in the USL First or Second Division in 2008, subject to another MLS team's right of first refusal.

Rounds

- The expansion draft will be 10 rounds.

Check out the Real Salt Lake Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from November 24, 2008


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