MLS Re-Entry Draft

The MLS Re-Entry Draft is an annual event in which Major League Soccer teams select players who are out-of-contract or have had their options declined by their current teams. While the single-entity league does not have true free agency, the re-entry draft was created to provide an outlet of internal movement for veteran players.

The Re-Entry Draft was created by the collective bargaining agreement reached in March 2010. Under the previous rules, clubs could hold what amounted to a 48-hour first right of refusal on players whose contracts had expired or didn’t have the options picked up. This was a significant obstacle to a new agreement during negotiations during the 2009-10 MLS offseason. With the players threatening to strike, the league and owners agreed to add the suggested re-entry draft in an attempt to provide some leverage to players.

The re-entry draft was praised by some for increasing freedom and flexibility of player movement, with agents and players arguing that it provided checks on teams who previously could either force a player to take a lower salary or make them seek options outside of MLS. Others, however, criticized the relative lack of players actually moving and the rushed nature of the process, which took place by conference call.

The first re-entry draft, consisting of two stages, took place over several weeks following the completion of the 2010 MLS season. Two players were chosen in Stage 1 of the draft with an additional eleven players chosen in the second stage, including World Cup veterans Jimmy Conrad, Josh Wolff, and Frankie Hejduk; designated player Juan Pablo Ángel, and Jeff Cunningham, then the second-leading scorer in league history.

Teams are able to select players who meet the following criteria:

Players with expiring contracts or options that are not renewed by their clubs who do not meet the age and service requirements necessary to be included in the Re-Entry Draft are instead available in the Waiver Draft.

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