It’s always an inexact science, evaluating whether a sports team overachieved or underachieved relative to the talent on its roster. But a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference standings, a return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, and a quick Round 1 ouster to a true title contender feels about right for what Austin FC could have reasonably accomplished in Nico Estévez’s first season as head coach.
Now the club marches toward an offseason of uncertainty, and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell faces a series of potentially franchise-altering decisions to make in hopes of building upon the progress of 2025.
First, Borrell must choose by November 26 whether to trigger club options on six senior roster players, or cut them loose to free agency. That includes Julio Cascante and his $853,750 salary, Ilie Sánchez ($600,000), Dani Pereira ($514,375), Brendan Hines-Ike ($325,000), Stefan Cleveland ($274,167), and Diego Rubio ($208,000). That’s nearly $2.8 million in salary the club could free up, though some of those options may make sense to pick up.
Hines-Ike, who will turn 31 this month, and Rubio, 32, both served important roles under Estévez this past season and are still bargains at their current salary figures. Both should return.
Cascante, 32, an Austin FC inaugural team member, is the likeliest to see his tenure with the club come to an end, having made only nine starts in 2025 despite being the club’s highest-paid non-DP.
Sánchez played an important role for Austin on the pitch and even more so in the locker room as the club’s captain, but as he turns 35 this month, his salary figure may prove too steep to keep – though it would not be shocking to see him return at a renegotiated, lower number.
Cleveland’s future will depend on whether Austin FC keeps Damian Las on the senior roster in 2026 to finally become Brad Stuver’s alternate. 23-year-old Las, the 2025 USL Championship Golden Gloves winner while on loan at Louisville City FC, might also attract offers to become a starting goalkeeper elsewhere, in which case Cleveland could return as backup goalkeeper.
The club is at an interesting moment with Pereira. The choice here isn’t whether or not to pick up his option (which would make him eligible to depart Austin for free following the 2026 season) but whether to reach a contract extension with the 25-year-old midfielder or look to sell his rights abroad in exchange for much-needed salary cap revenue.
Though Owen Wolff remains under contract through 2027, now could also be the time to strike a sale for the 20-year-old coming off a breakout season, in which he led the club in both goals (7) and assists (8). Losing Wolff’s production and creative influence would sting, but a multimillion-dollar transfer haul would give Borrell the freedom to elevate Austin’s roster from top to bottom. He won’t part with the club’s prized homegrown talent for cheap.
As things stand, there is no room for movement among the club’s three DP slots, occupied by Brandon Vázquez, Myrto Uzuni, and Osman Bukari, or its two U22 Initiative slots, occupied by Nico Dubersarsky and Mateja Djordjevic. All five players underwhelmed in 2025 (Vázquez’s unfortunate season-ending knee injury did not help things), and the clearest path to improvement for Austin next season lies in this group elevating its production substantially, if all five do indeed return. The club has proven it can get out from under bad DP contracts before, though, so nothing is off the table.
Borrell has worked tirelessly behind the scenes building up a well-equipped scouting department and cleaning up Austin’s salary cap books in order to capitalize on this time of year. But it only matters if it leads to the right decisions being made in the end.
This article appears in November 14 • 2025.