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Jeff Kassoff
The NWSL’s Board of Governors, which includes team owners and commissioner Jessica Berman, is in advanced discussions about implementing a new roster mechanism that would allow each team to pay star players significant salaries beyond the current salary cap, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.
If passed, the change would mark a significant shift in the NWSL’s long-term strategy, with the short-term goal of washington spirit Ahead trinity rodman In the league.
The basic structure of the new mechanism is that each team will have a certain amount of money beyond the existing salary cap to spend on star players who meet certain criteria, and those funds can be used on multiple players. A version of the proposal is currently up for a vote with the league’s board and could be approved before next week’s scheduled board meeting.
This mechanism and other proposals have been debated almost daily by the board in recent weeks, sources said, and the concept was discussed to some extent — with less urgency — earlier in the year. Part of the debate in recent weeks has involved what types of players should qualify for the proposed new funds. It is not immediately clear how this will be defined.
nwsl The board hopes this rule will resolve the saga surrounding Rodman’s free agency – his contract expires at the end of December – and keep him with Spirit at a salary – almost certainly upwards of $1 million – that can compete with his other offers from abroad. This rule is also intended to allow NWSL teams to compete financially in similar situations in the future.
The proposed concept of the NWSL is that teams would not be able to offer unlimited funds to any player as the amount of new funds available would be limited.
Sources said a possible solution could allow teams to spread new funds beyond just one player, as long as the salary exceeds a certain amount. That limit is not immediately obvious. The hope is that this rule will allow teams to sign the world’s best players at salaries that now exceed $1 million annually.
In the past, the NWSL used mechanisms such as allocation money to help teams pay extra money to players – which is being phased out.
The NWSL salary cap in 2025 was $3.5 million after adjusting for revenue sharing. This is next year’s base salary range before revenue sharing, and that number is likely to increase.
In MLS, teams can sign designated players whose total compensation and transfer fee exceed the maximum budget fee. The club is then responsible for funding the amount of compensation above the maximum budget fee, which was $743,750 for 2025.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, new Washington Spirit president of football operations Haley Carter said creative solutions were being discussed daily at the league level, and the matter was given “immediate and urgent attention” from the league’s board. Carter said he was “hopeful” a solution would be reached.
“Trinity is kind of the inspiration for it, but it’s not just about one player,” Carter said of conversations about solutions. “We’ve already lost a number of players in two transfer windows overseas this year to huge transfer fees. So, it’s really about retaining those athletes, building a roster that can compete sustainably, retaining our best players, attracting even more elite talent, and creating an environment where world-class athletes want to be. And that’s going to require some innovation from a strategic roster building standpoint, which we haven’t explored yet.”
Rodman’s future remained in limbo for months as his contract expired at the end of the year. Berman said before the league’s November championship that he would “fight” for Rodman to remain in the league, but Berman also remained adamant on the need for a salary cap and stated that the NWSL is “not a charity.”
The situation reached an impasse last week, when the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association filed a complaint Against the NWSL, arguing that the league violated the terms of its collective bargaining agreement when it vetoed the Washington Spirit’s record-setting contract offer to Rodman.
The NWSLPA filed a grievance on Rodman’s behalf on December 3, arguing that the league’s rejection of the terms agreed between Rodman and Spirit was a “gross violation” of his free agency rights and at least five sections of the CBA.
According to the complaint, Rodman and the Washington Spirit recently agreed to a multi-year contract that would load compensation into the final season.
Sources familiar with the agreement said it was a four-year deal with an escalator that would bring average compensation to more than $1 million annually, making it the largest contract in NWSL history.
The league had 14 days to uphold or reject the complaint in writing.
If it is not resolved within 14 days, a complaints committee consisting of a representative appointed by the league and a representative appointed by the players’ union will review the matter.
If that committee cannot resolve the issue, the dispute will go to arbitration (at which both parties may jointly agree to proceed directly).
A league spokesperson told ESPN in a statement last week: “Our goal is to ensure that the world’s best players, including Trinity, continue to call this league home. We will do everything we can, using every lever available under our rules, to keep Trinity Rodman here.”
Rodman has played for Washington since being selected by the Spirit with the No. 2 pick in the now-defunct 2021 draft.
As a rookie, she helped guide Washington to its first NWSL championship. The Spirit lost in the finals in 2024 and 2025. After that rookie year, he signed a new four-year deal worth a total of $1.1 million.
She told ESPN’s SoccerW earlier this year that she had “always thought about playing abroad at some point in my career” and “it’s just a matter of when.”
ESPN previously reported that Rodman received several offers from European clubs that were higher than what NWSL teams could pay her due to the league’s salary cap.
The CBA, which was approved in the summer of 2024, calls for increasing the NWSL’s team salary cap every year through 2030. In 2029 – which would have been the last year of a previously proposed four-year deal for Rodman – the base cap is set at $4.9 million.
There is no maximum salary defined by the CBA. The NWLSPA argued in the complaint that the league’s interference with Rodman could effectively constitute a construction.
In ESPN’s recent anonymous survey General managers were deeply concerned that the NWSL would not be able to compete for top players under the current salary cap projections.
Rodman’s potential loss in a league abroad would be another blow following the USWNT forward’s sudden departure alyssa thompson From Angel City FC To chelsea on September.
A new rule for world-class players could help retain top players and attract new players from abroad who are currently untouched due to their salaries.
“We were talking to a top, top player in Europe who was willing to take a pay cut in this last window, and the pay cut would have been so significant that she couldn’t justify it,” said one GM in our recent survey. “Players are also ready to take a little less salary [to play here]But we are talking about taking one-third of their salary.”
