| Club: | Real Salt Lake |
| Season: | 2012 |
| Stadium: | Rio Tinto Stadium |
| League: | Major League Soccer |
| Chrtitle: | Owner |
| Chairman: | SCP Worldwide |
| Mgrtitle: | Coach |
| Manager: | Jason Kreis |
| Highest Attendance: | 20,415 v C.D. Chivas USA (March 24, 2012) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 16,444 v Portland Timbers (July 7, 2012) |
| Largest Win: | CHV 0-4 RSL (9/29) |
| Largest Loss: | SJ 5-0 RSL (7/14) |
| Cup1: | MLS |
| Cup1 Result: | Conference: 2nd Overall: 5th |
| Cup2: | MLS Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Conference Semifinals |
| Cup3: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Third round |
| Cup4: | CONCACAF Champions League |
| Cup4 Result: | Group stage |
| Cup5: | Desert Diamond Cup |
| Cup5 Result: | Third place |
| Cup6: | Rocky Mountain Cup |
| Cup6 Result: | Winners |
| Pattern La1: | _RSL_12 |
| Pattern B1: | _RSL_12h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _RSL_12h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _RSL_12h |
| Pattern So1: | _RSL |
| Leftarm1: | FFC20E |
| Body1: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm1: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | B20000 |
| Pattern La2: | _RSL_12 |
| Pattern B2: | _RSL_12a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _RSL_12a |
| Pattern Sh2: | _adidasonwhite |
| Pattern So2: | _3_stripes_on_white |
| Leftarm2: | B20000 |
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| Shorts2: | B20000 |
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| American: | true |
| Prevseason: | 2011 |
| Nextseason: | 2013 |
The 2012 Real Salt Lake season was the team's eighth year of existence. The team's first game was on March 10 at the Home Depot Center against the Los Angeles Galaxy, which they won 3-1.
See main article: 2011 Real Salt Lake season.
See also: 2012 Desert Diamond Cup.
See also: 2012 Major League Soccer season.
See main article: 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Seattle Sounders won on 1 - 0 aggregate
See also: 2012 U.S. Open Cup.
See also: 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League.
Roster on September 27, 2012.[1]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |  Orlando City | Undisclosed | [2] | ||||
| 23 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Free | [3] | ||||
| 22 | Unattached | Free | [4] | ||||
| 53 | Unattached | Free | [5] | ||||
| 25 |  Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Trade | [6] | ||||
| 29 | Unattached | Free | [7] | ||||
| 3 | Chicago Fire | Trade | [8] | ||||
| 13 | Montreal Impact | Trade | [9] | ||||
| 25 |  Atlético Madrid | Free | [10] |
| Pos. | Player | Acquired From | Fee/notes | Date | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC Tar Heels | SuperDraft, 1st Round, Pick 17 | [11] | ||||
| Southern Methodist Mustangs | SuperDraft, 2nd Round, Pick 24 | [12] | ||||
| Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers | SuperDraft, 2nd Round, Pick 36 | [13] | ||||
| UCLA Bruins | Supplemental Draft, 1st Round, Pick 4 | [14] | ||||
 Manta FC | Supplemental Draft, 1st Round, Pick 17 | [15] | ||||
| Northwestern Wildcats | Supplemental Draft, 2nd Round, Pick 36 | [16] | ||||
 Universidad San Martín de Porres | Supplemental Draft, 3rd Round, Pick 55 | [17] |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Montreal Impact | Expansion Draft | [18] | ||||
| 3 | DC United | Trade | [19] | ||||
| 12 | San Jose Earthquakes | Trade | [20] | ||||
| 10 | Chivas USA | Re-Entry Draft | [21] | ||||
| 27 | N/A (Waived) | Waived | [22] | ||||
| 25 | N/A (Waived) | Waived | [23] |
Real Salt Lake is in the #17 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.[25]
Real Salt Lake has 6 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots and Real Salt Lake has traded away two spots permanently, one to Chivas USA in 2004 and the other to Colorado Rapids in 2005.
Future picks acquired: *2013 MLS SuperDraft Round 3 pick from D.C. United; *Unspecified year conditional draft pick from Seattle Sounders FC.
Future picks traded: *2013 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick to Vancouver Whitecaps FC; *2014 MLS SuperDraft round 4 pick to Chicago Fire; *2014 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick to Montreal Impact.