Overview
- ESPN reporter Shams Charania has reported that league discussions are aiming for an expansion window around the 2028–29 season but no formal approval has been announced.
- Bleacher Report ran a two-team mock expansion draft that used a published unprotected-player pool and had Las Vegas select Jared McCain with the No. 1 pick.
- ClutchPoints used the same Bleacher Report unprotected pool to build 15-player rosters for Seattle and Las Vegas to test whether new teams could make the playoffs right away.
- Both mock exercises applied 2004-style draft protections where teams could protect up to eight players and lose no more than one, while acknowledging actual future rules and financial limits remain undecided.
- If the league approves expansion, teams would face concrete roster and financial trade-offs because one-player losses per club and salary and luxury-tax mechanics could change depth, contract plans, and competitive balance.