2023 Contract Options and Status for Sporting KC

The 2023 Major League Soccer (MLS) season is just days away from starting. This is always a good time to post an updated look at the roster and where things stand as the season is set to begin. It will give us an idea who is entering a contract year (and going to crush it hopefully) and who is still locked up for a long time. Plus, a glimpse at the roster flexibility that Sporting Kansas City does (or does not) have going into the season.

We’ll break it down by which contracts are up the soonest with the full roster at the bottom of the story.

Out of Contract after 2023

Cameron Duke, Alan Pulido, Gadi Kinda, Kendall McIntosh

It’ll be a big year for Pulido and Kinda, and all four of these guys can technically sign pre-contracts in the summer to join new teams abroad (much higher probability for some than others). And while Cam Duke is still young, this could define if he stays on the roster long-term or if SKC look to move him to get some return before he can leave for free.

Out of Contract after 2023, but with 2024 Option

Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza, Johnny Russell, Remi Walter, Jake Davis, Ben Sweat, Kortne Ford

This is a huge chunk of the roster and between this list and the above players, the roster could look vastly different in 2024 if things go south again.

Out of Contract after 2023, but with Multiple Option Years

2025: Willy Agada, Robert Castellanos

2026: Danny Flores, Chris Rindov

If Willy Agada keeps performing, I expect a new contract for him with multiple guaranteed years and a raise.

Remaining Flexibility

This is a little gray. There are 29 players on the roster, but Ford is done for the year so it’s more like 28. Teams can have 30 players, but only 20 senior roster spots. It’s a little unclear, but those may be all used up with the recent Leibold signing.

As for international spots, teams get eight, SKC traded one away recently to the Columbus Crew, so they’ll only have seven. Right now, they show nine, but by roster compliance day (February 24th) they’ll announce all their green cards and will be in compliance and may even have wiggle room left.

Update: I’ve updated the DPs below, but it’s likely Kinda and/or Thommy can be bought down and another DP can be added (here is an explainer on why SKC can add another DP despite keeping Kinda). The team is out of U-22 Initiative spots barring a trade or a transfer.

Full Roster

The rest of the roster and all their option years are below.

Also of note, the “options” column shows the last option year, so if a player has multiple years, it won’t list them all. For example, new midfielder Danny Flores is signed through 2023 but has options all the way through 2026, so it just says 2026 in that column.

Update 2/24/2023: Johnny Russell is no longer listed as a Designated Player, but Erik Thommy is. Plus, five green cards came through for Andreu Fontas, Erik Thommy, Logan Ndenbe, Marinos Tzionis and Erik Thommy, so they no longer occupy international spots.

Key:

• DP = Designated Player
• INT = International Roster spot
• U22 = U-22 Initiative
• HG = Homegrown Player
• Age is as of 2/24/2023