Format
Each team in the league made ten players, including at least one foreign player, available for the Fire and Fusion to select. From this pool of available players, the two teams then selected twelve players. Although Paul Caligiuri of the Los Angeles Galaxy was listed as exposed, he had recently won a lawsuit against the league which forced the league to place him with the Galaxy as his original contract with the league had stipulated. Consequently, he was not available for selection. The Fire won the first selection through a coin toss. The draft was held via conference call.
Read more about this topic: 1997 MLS Expansion Draft