Atlanta United confirmed the rumor Tye Mears started himself by tweeting the team had picked up his rights by signing the 33-year-old defender for the 2017 season. In exchange for Mears' rights, ATLUTD sent the Seattle Sounders $50,000 in General Allocation Money.
Not too bad.
Mears, a native of the United Kingdom, spent his entire career between the English Premier League and the Championship before moving to MLS in 2015. He played with Chris McCann at Burnley from 2009-2011.
Thank you for your kind words, Seattle will always be a special place to me. option was declined, Atlanta negotiated my rights with Seattle— Tye Mears (@TyeMears) January 20, 2017