Reallocation of 2021 Dallas Jackals Players Amid Move of Inaugural Season

After the Dallas Jackals announced the move of their inaugural season to 2022, Major League Rugby held a Supplementary Draft on January 29 to reallocate eligible players. 

Dallas Jackals players on Standard Player Contracts (fixed term, salaried employees) were given the option of participation in the draft or a 50% severance payment. Twelve players chose to enter the draft, while four chose the latter. At the conclusion of the Draft, the draftee and teams had until February 8 to come to agreements. If an agreement was not made by the deadline, the player is given severance pay. Below are the results upon the agreements: 

• Carlo de Nysschen to San Diego Legion 
• Conner Mooneyham to Austin Gilgronis
• Jinho Mun to Houston SaberCats
• Kody O’Neil to Houston SaberCats
• Robbie Petzer to Rugby ATL
• Ryan James to LA Giltinis

Meanwhile, the seven athletes on Associate Player Contracts (hourly wage employees) are allowed to move freely to any team across the league or accept a severance payment. Finally, international players (7) who are still working to secure work authorization are unrestricted once they do so and will be able to join any team that desires their services. More signings will added at a later date. 

• Bronson Teles to Houston SaberCats
• Chad Gough to Utah Warriors
• Cristian Rodriguez to LA Giltinis
• Henry Hall to Seattle Seawolves
• Ma’ake Muti to LA Giltinis
• Tommy Clark to Seattle Seawolves
• William Burke to Rugby ATL

International Players: 

• Conrado Roura to Peñarol Rugby (Montevideo, Uruguay)
• Henry Stevenson to Utah Warriors
• James Malcom to Seattle Seawolves
• Jonetani Vasurakuta to LA Giltinis
• Marco Fepulea’i to LA Giltinis
• Wian Conradie to New England Free Jacks

To incentivize teams to retain Dallas Jackal players, MLR ensured that all “International” players will be considered “Domestic” for the 2021 season and teams will be afforded additional salary cap equal to the player’s compensation.  

A Development Player Affiliation Draft was held and four Development Players chose to enter. After agreements were met by both parties, Chaz Schwenk joined the Dallas Harlequins. Kelly Kolberg, Matt Frings, and Nate Lyon will be allocated to their respective clubs. 

The Dallas Jackals look forward to cheering on the players during the 2021 MLR season and wish them all the best in their career. 

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About Dallas Jackals —

The Dallas Jackals are a professional rugby team of Major League Rugby (MLR), the highest level of rugby competition in North America. The Jackals were named as an expansion team in 2020 and will play their inaugural season in 2022 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The team’s central mission is to develop domestic talent to a world-class level of play and professionalism while strengthening the high performance pathway in DFW by supporting the local clubs. Through proactive Community Outreach, the Jackals will exemplify and spread the passion of rugby by inspiring tradition, respect, family, and character on and off the pitch.

About MLR – 

Major League Rugby is a professional sports league entering its fourth season on March 20, 2021 and represents the highest level of rugby competition in North America. The League evolved from seven teams in 2018, to 12 teams in 2021, featuring 11 from the United States and one from Canada. Matches are televised on CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2, and ESPN+, among other national and local market platforms. All matches are available on Facebook Live for international fans. MLR prides itself in fostering intense and high-stakes competition, while bringing together a passionate community built on the values of Respect, Inclusivity, and Tradition. For more information about MLR, visit www.MajorLeague.Rugby.