Was in same situation and got mine reactivated.
I had to call Apple Support via https://developer.apple.com/contact/. They do call pretty much immediately as soon as you open a case.
They then "reopened" my account, which also sets it to auto-renew. There are a few agreement links I had to accept on app store connect, but then the developer account is active again.
Kind of strange they don't let you renew past an expiration date. But hope its helpful in case anyone is stuck.
Topic:
Developer Tools & Services
SubTopic:
Apple Developer Program
Tags: