Each AUSL original team could protect five players in the expansion draft. The league’s rules said the four original teams — the Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts — were each allowed to keep five players from being selected by the new expansion teams.

Quick scoop

That meant a total of 20 protected players across the four original AUSL teams.

What that means

  • Original teams: 5 protected players each.
  • New expansion teams: they drafted from the remaining unprotected players.
  • Opening-day rosters were planned to end up with 15 to 16 players per team.

In plain terms: if you were asking how many players each team could protect, the answer is five.

TL;DR: 5 players per team, 20 total protected players across the four original AUSL teams.