Kansas City NWSL entered the 2021 NWSL Draft with a purpose: move up the board. With three picks in the second round (15, 16, and 17) and two in the 4th round (36 and 38), KC NWSL made a bold move to trade with Sky Blue FC, who held the 4th overall pick. The trade involved $175,000 in allocation money to Sky Blue FC for Kansas City to select Stanford defender Kiki Pickett.
Per Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer, “Kansas City inherited the $245K from Utah and has access to up to $400K for 2021. They obviously felt the one-time $175K price was worth Pickett’s future.