The NWSL has found itself in a bit of a bind thanks to its CBA (collective bargaining agreement) and the salary cap it has established. The league's Board of Governors, which includes commissioner Jessica Berman and team owners, has reportedly been having discussions about developing a new “roster mechanism” that would allow clubs to offer star players like Trinity Rodman a salary significantly above the cap.
The potential changes come amid speculation around Rodman's next move after her contract with the Washington Spirit expired at the end of the 2025 NWSL season. The league's front office wants to ensure there's a way to keep Rodman stateside with a new contract that could compete with offers she's receiving from European clubs.
The agreement the NWSL is negotiating would give each team a set dollar amount above the salary cap to spend on star players that meet specific criteria, and these terms are currently up for a vote with the league's board. But even though Rodman's pending decision was the driving force, sources around the league made it clear that she's not the only star the plan would currently apply to.
“We were talking to a top, top player from Europe who was willing to take a pay cut in this last window, and the pay cut would have had to have been so significant that she couldn't justify it,” an anonymous team general manager revealed to ESPN. “Players are even willing to take a little less salary [to play in the NWSL], but we're talking about taking a third off their salary.”
The Spirit's president of soccer operations Haley Carter doubled down on the sentiment, expressing that the NWSL's motivation extends beyond Rodman alone.
“Trinity is sort of the impetus for this, but this isn't just about one player. We've already lost multiple players this year in two transfer windows overseas for massive transfer fees,” Carter explained on Tuesday. “So it's really about retaining those athletes, building a roster that can compete sustainably, keeping our best players, attracting even more elite talent, and also creating an environment where world-class athletes want to be.”
Commissioner Berman initially stated that the NWSL would “fight” to keep Rodman from leaving the league to play overseas. But Carter has admitted that the tools needed to make that possible still need to be developed.
“That's going to require some innovation from a strategic roster construction standpoint with mechanisms that we might not have explored yet,” Carter added.
