It’s been years, but Dan Egner’s X profile still shows him planting a kiss on the USL Championship’s silver cup. These days, Egner is an agent with NordicSky, representing clients on both sides of the Atlantic. But in 2019, when that picture was taken, he was the technical director of Real Salt Lake at a time when MLS teams had affiliates in the USL, the umbrella organization that runs much of lower-league soccer in the United States, including the second-division USL Championship.
When Salt Lake’s affiliate Real Monarchs won the final, the glory was sweet, but it was not profitable.
