Sources: Jason Nemo Signs Chicago Fire II Deal
The Chicago Fire have signed 15-year-old goalkeeper Jason Nemo to an MLS Next Pro contract, sources told MIR97 Media. Nemo will begin with the second team next season.
The Evanston native, who was the starting goalkeeper for the United States at the CONCACAF Under-15 Championship this past summer, has primarily featured for the Fire's academy teams thus far. Nemo also made the bench in MLS Next Pro twice last season, sitting behind fellow academy prospect David Molenda for road games against Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls.
Nemo is the third player born in 2010 to sign a pro contract with the club. Robert Turdean signed a homegrown deal last January, while talented midfielder Brody Williams signed a Fire II deal in March. Nemo is just the third goalkeeper to sign a pro deal with the Fire directly out of the academy, with Gaga Slonina and Chris Brady being the other two.
Additionally, Nemo is the second young goalkeeper the Fire have signed in the last few months. Highly-rated U.S. youth national team prospect Owen Pratt (born in 2008), who played at the previous CONCACAF U-15 in 2023, joined the team from the L.A. Galaxy in a surprise move just before the August trade deadline, signing an initial Fire II deal that will become a first team homegrown contract in 2027. As professional players signed to the second team, both Pratt and Nemo will also be eligible to be called up to the Fire first team next season in cases of extreme hardship.
Beyond Nemo and Pratt, the Fire still have several other academy goalkeepers in their ranks. The aforementioned Molenda (b. 2009) won the starting job for Fire II at the end of last season, while Lukas Peterson (b. 2009) and Alex Bayraktarov (b. 2011) have also trained with the second team extensively this year. The future seems bright for the Fire in a position they've always managed to produce players in, and Nemo seems poised to be the next in a long line of locally-raised #1s.
