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2023 Contract Options and Status for Sporting KC

Every player’s contract, when it ends, how many options years and what status they occupy on the roster.

MLS: Sporting Kansas City at FC Dallas Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Start of 2023 Sporting KC Roster

Player Position Status Joined Age Expiration Options
Player Position Status Joined Age Expiration Options
Graham Zusi RB - 1/15/2009 36 2023 2024
Tim Melia GK - 12/23/2014 36 2024 None
Roger Espinoza MID - 1/6/2015 36 2023 2024
Daniel Salloi LW HG 1/13/2016 26 2026 None
Johnny Russell RW 1/31/2018 32 2023 2024
Andreu Fontas CB 8/8/2018 33 2024 None
Cameron Duke MID HG 7/18/2019 22 2023 None
Felipe Hernandez MID HG 8/30/2019 24 2025 2026
Khiry Shelton FWD - 12/9/2019 29 2025 2026
Alan Pulido CF DP 12/10/2019 31 2023 None
Ozzie Cisneros MID HG 1/20/2020 18 2024 2025
Gadi Kinda MID DP 1/23/2020 28 2023 None
John Pulskamp GK HG 2/24/2020 21 2025 2026
Kendall McIntosh GK - 12/12/2020 29 2023 None
Remi Walter MID - 12/22/2020 27 2023 2024
Kayden Pierre RB HG 5/4/2021 20 2024 2025
Jake Davis MID HG 8/19/2021 21 2023 2024
Ben Sweat LB - 12/20/2021 31 2023 2024
Kortne Ford CB - 1/14/22 27 2023 2024
Logan Ndembe LB U22 1/14/22 23 2024 2025
Robert Voloder CB INT-U22 1/19/22 21 2024 2025
Marinos Tzionis FWD U22 1/24/22 21 2024 2025
William Agada CF INT 6/23/22 23 2023 2025
Erik Thommy MID DP 6/23/22 28 2024 2025
Nemanja Radoja MID INT 10/26/22 30 2025 2026
Tim Leibold LB INT 1/12/23 29 2025 2026
Danny Flores MID - 1/13/23 20 2023 2026
Chris Rindov CB - 2/10/23 21 2023 2026
Robert Castellanos CB - 2/17/23 24 2023 2025

Key:

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