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Jeff Kassoff
The NWSL Players Association has filed a grievance against the league arguing that the NWSL’s creation of the new “High Impact Player” mechanism violates the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and federal labor law.
The complaint filed this week is the second complaint filed by the NWSLPA against the league in the past six weeks. Other complaints of the union The case against the league is still open and a resolution is pending.
The NWSLPA said in a news release Wednesday that it is seeking “the immediate rescission of the HIP rule, an order that requires the league to bargain in good faith over any proposed player compensation rules prior to implementation, and provides full relief for any players affected by the league’s unilateral actions.”
“This was a unilateral decision by the league to change the way it evaluates a player’s fair market value,” NWSLPA executive director Meghan Burke said in a statement. “We agree that increased investment in player compensation is necessary to remain competitive in the global labor market. The solution is straightforward and collective bargaining by increasing the salary cap.
“What the league cannot do is invent a parallel salary system outside the salary cap that was never negotiated, then limit access to compensation through league-controlled criteria that exclude certain players.”
ESPN has contacted the NWSL for comment on the filing of the new complaint.
Last month, the NWSL announced the new High Impact Player (HIP) rule, which will allow teams to spend up to $1 million over the salary cap on certain players, provided they meet one of a list of criteria created by the league’s board.
Five days before that announcement, NWSLPA Executive Director Meghan Burke Told ESPN the union protested. The creation of the rule was seen as an attempt to “control and interfere” with the league in which players get paid more.
Burke and the union argue that any such rules should be collectively bargained. The union presented a counterproposal to the league to raise the cap to $1 million without any further qualifications, which would allow teams to spend as much as they like on all players.
“We really believe that how you measure a player’s value in terms of both playing ability and business criteria is nuanced,” Burke told ESPN in December.
“It’s more complicated than a handful of bullet points. It’s within the scope of teams to make decisions, and in a system of free agency, as we all agree, that’s how it works. It’s a free market.”
The CBA states that “the NWSL may, at its discretion, after consultation with the NWSLPA, reduce or eliminate the salary cap for certain roster classifications.”
What “consultation” should include has not been further defined, but Burke said the players’ union does not view the HIP rule as a roster classification.
The NWSL sees it that way and believes it has the right to push the rule forward despite the union’s opposition.
Sources previously told ESPN that the HIP rule had been discussed throughout 2025, but its implementation recently became necessary given the star’s future. United States of America women’s national team forward trinity rodman Hanged in limbo.
Rodman is looking for fair market value for what he is and importantly washington spiritHis team has seen annual revenues of $1 million or more over the past four years.
Under the NWSL’s hard salary cap, which was $3.5 million in 2025, the Spirit could not compete with other potential offers for Rodman. Rodman and Spirit reached a creative solution in late November to back out of the four-year contract and take the risk that a new media deal would raise the salary cap based on revenue share significantly higher than currently planned.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman rejected that agreed contract because it violated the “spirit” of the rules, and the league accused Rodman of preemptive salary cap manipulation.
The NWSLPA immediately filed a complaint against the NWSL on Rodman’s behalf, calling the league’s rejection of the deal a “gross violation” of the player’s free agency and a violation of at least five sections of the CBA.
Rodman’s old contract expired on 31 December; He is currently a free agent.
NWSL teams can begin reporting for the preseason on Thursday.
Rodman will join the USWNT’s training camp next week for the first time since April.
According to the terms of the CBA, the NWSL was required to issue a written response upholding or rejecting the union’s grievance.
Sources confirmed to ESPN that the league recently registered that response following the agreed extension for the holidays, but it’s not clear what that response says.
The league will need to do the same again, along with filing a formal complaint against the HIP rule.
The next step in each process will be a review of the case by a grievance committee consisting of one representative appointed by the league and one appointed by the players union.
If it cannot be resolved there then the dispute will go to arbitration.
