The calendar has flipped over to the final month of the year and with that, it is draft season once again in Major League Soccer.

On December 11, newcomers San Diego FC will get a chance to expand their roster for their upcoming inaugural season.

With that comes the Expansion Draft. A five round affair that will be done and over with before you even know it. Once a team has lost a player to the expansion side, they will be exempt from the rest of the draft.

Here is a refresher on the rules for this per the league’s website:

Protected/unprotected player-related rules:

  • The 29 MLS clubs that competed during the 2024 season can protect 12 players from their Senior and Supplemental rosters.
  • If a player’s contract expires at the end of 2024, he will still be considered part of the club’s Roster.
  • If a club protects a player, the club is not obligated to exercise the player’s option. The club may renegotiate a new contract with the player as in previous years, subject to the CBA.
  • Generation adidas players who occupy Roster Slots 21-24 and Homegrown Players 25 years old and under in the year in which the Expansion Draft takes place on a club’s Roster at the end of the 2024 MLS Season are automatically protected. Clubs do not have to use a protected slot on them.
  • Designated Players and other discretionary players are NOT automatically protected (i.e., clubs must choose whether to protect such players and if such player is not protected, he will be available for selection in the Expansion Draft).
  • If a player has a no-trade clause in his contract, his MLS club must protect him, and he will count as one of the 12 players who may be protected.

International player rules:

  • 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.