OL Reign Acquires Allocation Money, 1st Round Draft Pick, and International Slot

OL Reign today announced a trade with Portland Thorns FC through which it has acquired Portland’s 2022 natural 1st round draft pick, an international slot for 2021, and $250,000 in allocation money. $150,000 of the allocation money was paid immediately, $50,000 will be due on January 1, 2021, and a contingent payment of $50,000 will be due on January 1, 2022.

In return, OL Reign delivered the rights to Crystal Dunn, which were earlier acquired in a separate deal with the North Carolina Courage. To acquire Dunn’s rights, OL Reign traded goalkeeper Casey Murphy and $140,000 in allocation money. The allocation money will be paid to NC in two tranches: $65,000 in 2021 and $75,000 in 2022.

“Crystal’s agent was adamant that it was her priority to join her husband at their home in Portland—there was simply no viable alternative for Crystal other than a move to Portland,” said OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore. “In the absence of Portland and North Carolina being able to agree to a deal directly, we decided to play a role in facilitating what we viewed as an inevitable outcome. Through that process we acquired assets that we are confident will help us significantly strengthen our squad in 2021 and beyond.”

The net return for OL Reign in the two trades was $110,000 in allocation money ($50,000 of which is contingent upon Dunn playing in the NWSL on or after June 1, 2021), Portland’s 2022 natural 1st round draft pick, and an international slot for the 2021 season.

“The decision to trade Casey was extremely difficult given her consistently outstanding performances for the club since she arrived in 2019,” said Predmore. “However, the assets we acquired in the trade will help us realize the ambitious plans that we have outlined for the team in 2021. All funds generated through the trade will be invested in our current players, or in players that we expect will join the club for the 2021 season.”