Rising defender Will Sands agrees to multiyear contract extension with Revolution

One of the Revolution players who has risen in prominence under first-year coach Marko Mitrovic will be sticking with the team for the long term.

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Will Sands has agreed to a deal through the 2029-30 season with New England, which announced the contract extension Tuesday. The defender, 25, had only been signed through year’s end, with a team option for 2027.

The contract will cover the next four MLS seasons as the league shifts to a summer-to-spring calendar next summer.

The former Columbus Crew homegrown player joined the Revolution in July 2024, acquired for franchise stalwart DeJuan Jones, but saw only sporadic time in his first year-plus under former coach Caleb Porter. Sands ranked seventh in minutes played among defenders last season, appearing in just 19 of 34 games.

Mitrovic, however, has made Sands his primary left back in a deep defensive unit, starting him in all 14 games of the team’s 8-5-1 pre-World Cup schedule. A strong battler in duels who has helped the Revolution bottle up the likes of Lionel Messi, former Charlotte star Wilfried Zaha, and Philadelphia’s Cavan Sullivan in the early going, Sands has been flexible — he shifted to the right side with Ilay Feingold out injured — and shown offensive skills, scoring his first MLS goal in the April 22 victory at Atlanta.

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“When we came here, I felt that Will [had] much more in him than what he’s showing. Not just me, the whole coaching staff. We talked about how we can unlock Will, that he first believe more in himself, but we have to show that we believe in him,“ Mitrovic said last month. ”I’m happy with how much he’s growing, but I also think that Will can unlock himself even more . . . A very reliable player. You put him anywhere on the field and he’ll do his job.”

“Will has grown tremendously as a player and teammate since joining us two years ago,” sporting director Curt Onalfo said in a press release. “He is in excellent form right now, and we believe his best years are still ahead.”

Sands, a New York native, has made 63 MLS appearances in the past five seasons, with the one goal and six assists.

The Revolution sit fourth in the Eastern Conference at the MLS’s World Cup break and are off until July 22.

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