USWNT star Sophia Wilson has confirmed that she's exercising her player option for 2026 to return to the Portland Thorns. Wilson's $1 million option marks the first seven-figure one-year salary in the NWSL's history, which comes in the midst of the league's plan to allow teams to offer salaries above the salary cap to “high impact players.”
Wilson missed the entire 2025 season after giving birth to her first child in September. Her decision of whether to return to the Thorns, the only professional club she's played for, created a lot of speculation throughout the campaign.
“Coming back to Portland is so special to me because Portland is where I started my professional career and where I've grown up in a lot of ways,” Wilson said.
The 25-year-old originally signed her contract in 2024 for what was a league-high annual salary. Neither the Thorns nor Wilson disclosed what the value was at the time, but it's clear the record-setting amount encouraged her to continue playing in Portland, among other factors that she revealed in a statement.
“I'm excited for the city. I love living here, I love the people here. I'm excited to get back with everyone and play in Providence Park and to play in front of the Riveters,” Wilson added. “There's no place like it. That is the place to play, and I'm excited to be back in it.”
Wilson is invaluable to Portland as a former NWSL MVP for the 2022 season and a league champion, as well as a 2024 Olympic gold medalist. Thorns president and general manager of soccer operations Jess Agoos released his own statement detailing the organization's feelings about Wilson's choice to return.
“We are thrilled to have a world-class player like Sophia continue to call Portland her home,” Agoos said. “Sophia is an exceptional global star that can change the game in an instant. She will strengthen our roster's attack, and her return makes our front line one of the most formidable in the NWSL.”
The announcement comes just a week after the league's leadership voted to allow teams to offer those deemed as “high impact players” a salary that goes above the cap established in the CBA, spending up to an extra $1 million to entice top stars with only a partial hit to the cap.
The move was partially a response to the restrictive contract offers that have appeared to limit the caliber of players who choose to join or stay in the NWSL. Trinity Rodman was one of the players at the center of this issue, as rumors swarm around her potential to leave for Europe after her contract with the Washington Spirit expired at the end of the season.
