Atlanta United won a coin flip and selected first in the expansion priority draft, nicknamed the "draft draft", and will select first in December's expansion draft.
After Atlanta president Darren Eales picked the first pick of the expansion draft, Minnesota United sporting director Manny Lagos elected to take the first pick in this winter's MLS draft. Atlanta, which will be coached by Gerardo "Tata" Martino, then selected the top spot in the allocation order.
Live from the #MLSLiveShow, the Expansion Priority Draft with @ATLUTD and @MNUFC - coin flip and everything. https://t.co/X5wJuR5bSc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 16, 2016
Minnesota United, which has an iteration currently playing in NASL, then selected priority for NASL and USL player claims, with Atlanta left with the higher waiver and re-entry draft place (21) and Minnesota closing out with getting the higher discovery ranking.
The two teams will enter into the league in 2017, and as part of the roster-building process will take part in the expansion draft. The draft, which allows the teams to select players from other MLS teams who were not put on protected lists, will be five rounds. That's in contrast to the last expansion draft, which took place two years ago when New York City FC and Orlando City SC came into the league and had 10 expansion selections.
