The NWSL expansion draft for Bay FC and the Utah Royals is set to take place at 7 p.m. ET Friday on CBS Sports Network.

How long the draft will take, though, is anyone’s guess, as many teams opted to trade for draft protection rather than subject themselves to the guessing game. The Equalizer’s Taylor Vincent broke down every team’s status into a Venn diagram, showcasing who has protection from whom – and who doesn’t have protection at all.

Neither the Chicago Red Stars nor OL Reign have protection from either expansion team entering the draft. But then again, they might have had less reason to seek it.

The Red Stars’ best player, Mallory Swanson, is a free agent and has not re-signed with the team, making her ineligible for the expansion draft. (But it’s highly likely she will re-sign with the club, given that her husband Dansby Swanson signed a seven-year contract with the Chicago Cubs last December.)

OL Reign, meanwhile, has players such as Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett exploring free agency and also ineligible for the draft.

In total, seven teams acquired total protection from Bay FC and the Utah Royals:

  • Orlando Pride
    • Acquired $90,000 in allocation money and expansion draft protection from Utah in exchange for midfielder Mikayla Cluff and the No. 26 overall pick in the 2024 college draft.
    • Acquired $50,000 in allocation money and expansion draft protection from Bay FC in exchange for their natural first round pick (No. 8 overall) in the 2024 college draft.
  • Washington Spirit
    • Traded the No. 20 and No. 21 overall picks in the 2024 college draft for protection from Utah.
    • Traded defender Dorian Bailey for protection from Bay FC.
  • Kansas City Current
    • Acquired $175,000 in allocation money and protection from Bay FC in exchange for defender Alex Loera.
    • Acquired $75,000 in allocation money and protection from Utah in exchange for defender Kate Del Fava and the No. 4 pick in the 2024 college draft.
  • Portland Thorns
    • Acquired $75,000 in allocation money and protection from Bay FC in exchange for defender Emily Menges.
    • Acquired protection from Utah in exchange for $10,000 in allocation money, the No. 33 overall pick in the 2024 college draft and forward Hannah Betfort.
  • Gotham FC
    • Acquired $150,000 in allocation money and protection from Utah in exchange for goalkeeper Mandy Haught.
    • Acquired protection from Bay FC in exchange for defender Ellie Jean, while also trading the No. 28 and No. 42 overall picks to Racing Louisville in a three-team trade.
  • Angel City FC
    • Acquired $50,000 in allocation money and protection from Bay FC in exchange for forward Scarlett Camberos.
    • Acquired protection from Utah in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money and a 2024 international roster spot.
  • Houston Dash
    • Traded $50,000 in allocation money and forward Cameron Tucker for protection from Utah.
    • Traded $25,000 in allocation money and midfielder Joelle Anderson for protection from Bay FC.

Racing Louisville acquired protection from Bay FC but not Utah. Meanwhile, the North Carolina Courage and San Diego Wave FC have protection from the Royals but not from Bay FC.

All offseason transactions in the league for the 2023-24 season can be found here.