Big news in women’s soccer: The National Women’s Soccer League just reached a major settlement with the NWSL Players Association to drop restrictive qualifications from its "high impact player" rule. Removing this so-called "Rodman rule" opens the door for any players in the league to get a seven-figure salary starting January 1, 2027. Under the previous guidelines—which remain in play for the rest of this season—only about 100 players met the requirements for the NWSL's highest pay tier.
This new agreement allows any player to be designated as a "high impact player," with 12 percent of their salary counting against the team's salary cap, per ESPN. This new rule adjustment happened after the league previously rejected a high-paying contract proposal between the Washington Spirit and Trinity Rodman. Under the existing rule, the NWSL lost star American players Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma to European teams, where they received more lucrative offers, ESPN reports.
Rodman has also received large offers from European teams—the rule change may encourage her to stay in the U.S. Pretty much everything about women’s soccer is booming. The league has a media deal with ESPN, CBS, Prime Sports, and Scripps’ ION network, reportedly worth $60 million a year, reports.
The NWSL called it the "largest media investment in women's sports history." NWSL players are bonafide stars in their own right, with big names like Sophia Smith, Rodman, and Mallory Swanson earning lucrative sponsorship deals, too. So, if you're a newbie to the sport (or just looking to brush up ahead of the playoffs, which begin November 6), here's everything to know about the NWSL teams. There are currently 16 NWSL teams.
Each team is allowed a minimum of 22 players and a maximum of 26 players on their rosters, per Soccer Wire. And here’s a look at the 2026 season rankings, per the NWSL: The regular season ends on November 1, and the quarterfinal round starts on November 6. You can expect a new NWSL champ to be crowned on November 21.
There's a large range in salaries for the NWSL, but like everything else in the sport, they're on the rise. At the beginning of this year, the NWSL increased the salary cap to $3.7 million. By comparison, the cap was $1.375 million in 2023 and $2.75 million in 2024, per CBS.
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