Them and Delhi Dynamos, who didn't retain a single player from the previous season, were the only sides who participate in the first round of the draft.
[1] The order for which each team participated in the draft was determined on Saturday, 22 July 2017.
[1] On 22 July 2017, before the draft commenced, the official list of players available for selection were announced.
Only Jamshedpur FC and Delhi Dynamos entered the draft in this round.
[1] Atlético de Kolkata, Bengaluru FC, Goa, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City, and NorthEast United all entered in this round.