The NWSL board reportedly is voting on a solution that would allow USWNT star forward Trinity Rodman to stay in the league, according to reporting by ESPN.
The solution would reportedly allow NWSL teams to pay one or more star players beyond what the current salary cap allows with a set amount of money, although it is unclear which players would qualify. This is similar to a Designated Player rule that other leagues like the MLS use, which allows teams to pay certain players outside of the salary cap.
These rules allow leagues to remain competitive with the international market and sign top players, while still maintaining a salary cap that leads to parity within the league.
While the current NWSL salary cap maintains parity between clubs, there has been much discussion recently about whether the league will be able to retain its star players. The salary cap is currently $3.5 million, and will increase to $5.1 million by 2030. USWNT stars like Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma have already left the league for Europe earlier this year.
Although the problem is bigger than Rodman, the USWNT star is the reason the issue is being urgently discussed. Rodman is a free agent, and the league rejected a proposed four year contract by the Washington Spirit that would have retained Rodman for an average of over a million dollars a year, with her compensation increasing during the last two years.
The league and the Washington Spirit have been in ongoing discussions trying to find a solution that would allow Rodman to stay in the league.
“Trinity is sort of the impetus for this, but this isn’t just about one player,” said Spirit’s new President of Soccer Operations, Haley Carter. “We’ve already lost multiple players this year in two transfer windows overseas for massive transfer fees.”
“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. And that’s going to require some innovation from a strategic roster construction standpoint with mechanisms that we might not have explored yet,” said Carter.
The NWSL’s decision will have a huge impact not just for Rodman, but for the future of the league.
