We don’t like to say goodbye.
However, that’s going to happen with as many as 11 Austin FC players sometime after Saturday’s anticlimactic Decision Day match between Verde and the Colorado Rapids. While the Rapids are playing for the chance to get a more favorable first-round matchup at a No. 5 through No. 7 seed, Austin’s playing to finish ahead of FC Dallas below the playoff line. (They can lock up 10th with a win; huzzah.)
As you probably know (but just in case you don’t), all contract option years in MLS are club options. The club can occasionally cede that undisputed advantage by writing autorenew option years into contracts (cough, Claudio Reyna, cough), but typically, it’s up to the sporting director and other front office decision-makers to determine if a player’s option year gets activated.
With that in mind, here’s a list of players whose contracts are up in 2024 (all but one with option years in 2025), and some initial thoughts on what Verde sporting director Rodolfo Borrell might do.
