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Where the Chicago Fire Stand at Roster Compliance

Alex Calabrese

21 Feb 2025 — 5 min read

MLS: Real Salt Lake at Chicago Fire FC

The 2025 MLS season is on the horizon, and the Chicago Fire’s roster is comfortably in line with league rules in time for today's compliance deadline. Sources told MIR97 Media that the club has made several moves in the last couple of days – including using the team’s second buyout on Gastón Giménez to alleviate his cap hit.

In addition, the team has chosen to stick with the “2+4” roster construction model for the first half of the season, meaning that at least until the summer, the team will only have two Designated Players (DPs) but an extra Under-22 Initiative slot. The team also receives an additional $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM). This decision maintains the flexibility to sign a third DP in the summer transfer window, but if one is not signed, the team will receive yet another $1 million in GAM.

Giménez left the club by mutual termination on Christmas Eve but was just bought out officially this week. (via Chicago Fire FC)

Where the Senior and Supplemental Rosters stand

In MLS, teams’ officially 30-man roster are divided into a senior roster (20 players) and a supplemental roster (10 players). The heavy hitters and big earners make up the senior roster, while the supplemental roster typically consists of budget players, backups, and homegrown prospects.

Naturally, this means that the Fire’s senior roster includes all the names you would expect, including DPs Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers, TAM players Kellyn Acosta, Jack Elliott, Rominigue Kouamé, Chris Mueller, and Philip Zinckernagel, and U-22 players Leonardo Barroso and Brian Gutiérrez.

In a minor change from last season, defender Chase Gasper was moved from the supplemental roster to the senior roster. The Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy are still paying a large portion of his fairly expensive salary, so his actual cap hit for the Fire is small, but for a number of accounting reasons, it made sense to move him to the senior roster. Though currently on the injured list from a knee injury sustained before preseason, Gasper will be eligible to return to MLS action in April.

On the other hand, the supplemental roster has seen some new additions in recent days. Omar González, who was signed midway through the preseason, is on the senior minimum salary and thus takes Gasper’s place on the supplemental roster. 16-year-old top prospect Christopher Cupps, signed to a homegrown deal two weeks ago, is also on the supplemental roster and will immediately be eligible for MLS action after a remarkable preseason.

Finally, as the senior roster stands at just 17 players, the club is charged an additional $104,000 against the salary cap; this is because the senior roster is supposed to consist of between 18 and 20 players. However, should another player be signed to the senior roster, that invisible cap hit will go away instantly, so it has very little impact.

Chase Gasper moved to the senior roster but is currently out injured. (Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports)

The Goalkeeping Depth Chart; Dowd to Tulsa

Last season, the Fire had four goalkeepers on the first team squad, as starter Chris Brady was backed up by Spencer Richey, Jeff Gal, and Bryan Dowd. Richey has since left the club, and no other backup was signed, meaning Gal is firmly established as the number two.

Sources told MIR97 Media that Dowd – whose contract was extended by an extra year this offseason – has joined FC Tulsa of USL on a season-long loan for 2025, where he will get regular minutes. The Fire maintain an option to recall him at any time should it become necessary. From an MLS roster standpoint, Dowd fills the so-called “Slot 31,” meaning that he is ineligible for league action and is officially not a part of the supplemental roster.

Dowd was loaned for the second straight season. (via Barbara Calabrese)

With only two goalkeepers officially on the squad that means that Fire II/Academy goalkeepers Patrick Los, Patryk Stechnij, and David Molenda will be the team’s depth in goal. Should there be an injury at the first team level to either Brady or Gal, one of these teenage keepers would be called up to sit on the bench. Los would certainly be the one expected to get the nod if the situation arose, though as he opted not to sign an MLS Next Pro contract this offseason, he will leave Chicago over the summer to join the University of Michigan Wolverines.

For Fire II, Los will still lead the way in minutes, while Stechnij and Molenda will also get opportunities. Gal will also likely play some second team games. Like Los, Stechnij is set to play college soccer next fall, as he committed to the University of Wisconsin.

17-year-old Los is currently the Fire's #3 goalkeeper. (via Barbara Calabrese/MIR97 Media)

What’s Next for the Roster

As mentioned previously, the Fire are sticking with the 2 DP/4 U-22 model for the first half of the season. Thus, the team has three open senior roster slots and two open U-22 slots, as well as one open international slot. In terms of cap space, the buyout of Gastón Giménez alleviates any potential problems and gives the club further flexibility, though it does remove the possibility of getting rid of another player by contract buyout (as Arnaud Souquet was the other player bought out last week).

Ultimately, moving the likes of Giménez, Federico Navarro, and Tobias Salquist early in the window was a tremendous benefit to the Fire as they built their roster this offseason. Under Berhalter, the team is expected to be much more aggressive throughout the transfer window; the possibility of further moves before the primary window closes on April 23rd – potentially to fill one of the three remaining senior roster spots – should not be dismissed.