Nashville SC’s 2025 campaign ended this week with a first-round playoff loss to Inter Miami. This offseason, the SixOneFive Soccer crew will bring you content analyzing Nashville’s season and the moves the club makes in preparation for 2026.
After winning the US Open Cup, Nashville have qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup and will make return to continental competition. This will put additional strain on the roster. They'll need to juggle a crowded early-season calendar with increased travel demands, making depth acquisitions all the more important.
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The first big marker of the offseason will be the annual roster decision release. Nashville will declare who is staying (for now) and who will immediately depart from the club. It may also be coupled with information regarding contract extensions and other small nuggets of information.
The official announcement could come as early as this week.
While we wait, here's what I'm predicting for Nashville's post-season roster decisions.
Designated Players
Hany Mukhtar
UNDER CONTRACT | Nashville’s most important piece remains locked in for 2026 with an option for the 2027 season. Barring injury, Mukhtar will remain a club cornerstone for years to come.
Sam Surridge
UNDER CONTRACT | Similarly, Surridge is under contract for 2026 with an option for 2027. Coming off the best season of his career, the 31-goal scorer may be looking for a pay bump. Currently, he is earning $3.2 million annually, which ranks 33rd most among all MLS players. As a finalist for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player award, the 27-year-old could be looking for a deal that pays him more in the range of Mukhtar ($5.3 million).
Walker Zimmerman
FREE AGENT – "IN NEGOTIATIONS" | Zimmerman, the club captain, enters this offseason as a free agent. He is currently a Designated Player, earning $3.45m per season. However, he will be hard pressed to find that deal on the open market.
SixOneFive Soccer expects Nashville – like most MLS clubs – to transition to the 2 DP + 4 U22 Initiative roster model. This means that if Zimmerman is to stick around, he must come underneath the Maximum TAM threshold ($1,803,125). I expect Nashville has made an offer around that amount, but Zimmerman may still test the free agency waters.
He could be in search of a club closer to home (Lawrenceville, Georgia), greater MLS title odds, or a new challenge that puts him back on the radar for the US Men’s National Team heading into a World Cup year. A potential complication to Zimmerman’s return is recent reports from Norway that Nashville are set to sign Ghanian center back Maxwell Woledzi.
