The recent trend in USWNT player transfers has been that of stars moving away from the domestic league to play in Europe. Clubs across the pond have drawn players with the ability to pay higher salaries
and higher competition in the Champions League. However, a big name is now drawing interest from NWSL teams as Catarina Macario’s contract with Chelsea is set to expire.
According to ESPN, Macario is set to be a free agent at the end of the 2025-2026 season and can sign a pre-contract with clubs beginning on January 1, 2026. However, it seems that in order to come stateside the league would need to adopt rules that would allow teams to pay a single “High Impact Player” (HIP) a salary that would push past the salary cap by $1 million.
Macario has been a key player for the national team when healthy but she has dealt with significant injuries in the years since joining the USWNT. In the recent friendlies against Italy, the forward scored three goals in two matches. So far this year for Chelsea, she has played just over 600 minutes with two goals and two assists across all competitions.
