The 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft was a special draft held on November 12, 2020, by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) for Racing Louisville FC, an expansion team, to select players from existing teams in the league.
On October 26, 2020, the NWSL announced that Chicago Red Stars would receive full roster protection after executing a trade with Racing Louisville FC.
All players currently under contract, on loan, or whose NWSL rights are held by an NWSL team (e.g., draft picks, waiver claims, retired players) were eligible for selection unless included on the protected list, and only players not yet signed from an NWSL team's discovery list were exempt.
[3] The timeline for the Expansion Draft process was as follows: Racing Louisville FC selected 14 players on November 12, 2020.
[4] After Chicago Red Stars traded for full roster protection, the remaining eight current NWSL teams released their respective protected lists on November 5, 2020.