Sporting KC exercises options on 11 players ahead of 2018 MLS season

Sporting Kansas City announced Monday that the club has exercised contract options for the following 11 players ahead of the 2018 MLS season.

• Saad Abdul-Salaam
• Kharlton Belmar
• Amer Didic
• Andrew Dykstra
• Roger Espinoza
• Tim Melia
• James Musa
• Ike Opara
• Daniel Salloi
• Colton Storm
• Adrian Zendejas

In addition, forward Cameron Porter and defender Erik Palmer-Brown are now out of contract with Sporting KC. Porter is eligible for the MLS Waiver Draft on Dec. 13. Sporting KC retains the rights to Palmer-Brown within MLS.

Sporting KC will not exercise contract options for forward Cameron Iwasa, midfielder Soni Mustivar, midfielder Kevin Oliveira and defender Tyler Pasher. Iwasa, Oliveira and Pasher are eligible for the MLS Waiver Draft. Mustivar is eligible for the MLS Re-Entry Draft, with Stage One set for Dec. 15 and Stage Two on Dec. 21.

Sporting KC now has 25 players under contract for the 2018 campaign: the 11 players whose options were exercised as well as players already under contract for 2018: Matt Besler, Latif Blessing, Gianluca Busio, Kevin Ellis, Benny Feilhaber, Gerso, Ilie, Jaylin Lindsey, Cristian Lobato, Jimmy Medranda, Diego Rubio, Soony Saad, Seth Sinovic and Graham Zusi.

For a full list of Sporting KC’s offseason roster moves, visit SportingKC.com/tracker. The club will spend both phases of the 2017 preseason in Arizona, first reporting to Scottsdale from Jan. 22 – Feb. 3 and then to Tucson for the Desert Diamond Cup from Feb. 9-24.

Major League Soccer released its 2017-18 offseason calendar earlier this month. The 2017 MLS Expansion Draft will take place at 1 p.m. CT on Dec. 12 as expansion club Los Angeles FC adds up to five players to its inaugural roster. The 2018 MLS SuperDraft will take place in mid-January in Philadelphia.

Sporting KC players under contract in 2018

Contract terms as of Nov. 27, 2017