The impact and value of the MLS SuperDraft is being discussed every year. With MLS franchises turning to academies and homegrowns and a decreasing number of players in Major League Soccer coming from college and through the SuperDraft, there is reason to question its utility.
And this year, those that have been critical of the SuperDraft’s presence — I include myself among those commenters — have been helped by the conservative nature in which it was conducted.
There were no blockbuster, David Accam, Jack Harrison-style trades, the number five pick was traded for a Matt Lampton and $75,000 less in allocated money last year than this year, and LAFC were asking FC Cincinnati for the number one pick with an offer worth approximately $250,000-$300,000, depending on your value of an international roster spot, a third of what the pick went for in 2017.