The New York Red Bulls won’t know if they’re playing in 2019 CONCACAF Champions League until December 8: if Atlanta United wins the 2018 MLS Cup Final, RBNY is in CCL.
But RBNY will know its potential first-round opponent - and the identity of potential future opponents in the tournament - on December 3, because CONCACAF is pushing ahead with the draw for CCL 2019 before qualifying for the competition is technically complete.
So the CCL 2019 will deliver RBNY an opponent and a path to the final, but the Red Bulls won’t know if they’re actually playing in the tournament until December 8.