Sep 24, 2024, 10:29 AM ET
The National Women’s Soccer League’s new collective bargaining agreement is radical by American sports standards, but the league has clearly made the changes to position itself to compete globally.
All forms of draft have been abolished, and there are no longer any restrictions on movement for out-of-contract players. Young players will now enter the league by signing with teams, rather than being selected at random. Free agents will have equal rights to sign where they want. Contracts are now guaranteed, and no trades can be executed without the player’s consent.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
The changes represent a drastic shift toward player agency in a single-entity league where, historically, clubs had absolute power. They also clearly answer a yearslong dilemma that NWSL brass has grappled with: Is the NWSL competing with other American leagues, or the rest of the soccer world?
The answer is affirmatively the latter. The new CBA was ratified over two years before the expiration of the previous deal. This new agreement, which effectively supersedes the old one, runs through 2030, meaning there is labor peace for the foreseeable future.
What do these changes mean, and why are they so revolutionary? Let’s dive in.
Goodbye to drafts
The player entry draft is gone, and so too is the expansion draft for future teams joining the league. This decision stands opposite the norm in U.S. sports: All the major men’s leagues, and the WNBA, utilize drafts.
In our recent anonymous survey of general managers, NWSL GMs were split down the middle on whether to keep the draft. Those in favor of keeping the draft pointed to the lack of alternative options in place, such as academies where teams can naturally develop and identify players. One GM said it could turn into “a total mess and a s—show” without alternative methods.
Well, we’re about to find out. The abolition of the draft took immediate effect, meaning the current crop of college players who are in-season, and who might have been thinking about entering the draft, are about to dive head-first into the open market of negotiation.
To be fair, this is how it works globally. The NWSL draft as a collective already competed against top European clubs annually for great young talents, such as U.S. international Catarina Macario, who chose Lyon over the NWSL in 2021. The NWSL was at a disadvantage because players could not guarantee which team would draft them, though there is a long history of backroom deals to honor player demands.
This new CBA, announced last month, is a radical step forward for the league and the sport in general. Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The NWSL is also now competing to some extent with the USL Super League, a startup that also has first-division status. The Super League does not have a draft and will compete for entry-level talent out of college.
Free agency for all, and player consent for trades
Along with the elimination of the draft, full player agency is the biggest operational change to the NWSL from its historical roots.
Free agency was introduced for the first time in 2022 upon the ratification of the first CBA, but it still came with caveats. Out-of-contract players were only eligible for full free agency if they met a minimum number of “service years” in the league. This effectively limited free agency largely to veteran players. Restricted free agency — a common concept in American sports — had a lower threshold, but it meant that an incumbent club could retain a player (potentially against the player’s will) by matching any offer on the open market.
That entire concept is now gone. When a player’s contract expires, the player is free to sign anywhere, which aligns the NWSL with the rest of the world.
It is a jarring, rapid change from the past. We asked NWSL general managers about full free agency prior to the ratification of the new CBA, and the feelings were mixed. Five out of 14 general managers in our recent anonymous survey felt that the league should not implement full free agency. One pointed out that free agency is still so new to the league that there has not been enough time to analyze how that version of it operates.
The discovery rule, which was a major source of frustration for both players and league executives, is also gone. It allowed teams to claim NWSL “rights” to players largely at random, and then use those rights to stall other deals or trade for other assets.
play
0:56
Krieger: No sympathy for GM complaints in survey about player protections
Ali Krieger reacts to ESPN’s anonymous survey of NWSL general managers in which some voiced concerns that reforms for players have gone too far.
More charter flights
Charter flights have been a hot-button issue for years in the NWSL. However, it’s often been a private battle, though the NWSL did fine the Kansas City Current last year for utilizing a charter flight to Louisville, which has no direct flights from Kansas City.
Before 2024, teams could only qualify for a charter flight if they had a midweek game and there were no direct flights to their destination. This year, that “and” changed to “or,” but there are still limitations on frequency of charter flights.
Earlier this year, the WNBA announced that teams would begin traveling exclusively by charter flights, which is a standard in major men’s sports. The NWSL will not follow suit; instead, the new CBA entitles teams to six “legs” (three round trips, effectively, but they don’t have to be booked as round trips) of charter flights per season “as a matter of right.” It also requires teams to fly charter for certain midweek games — a three-game week or any midweek game in a season with over 42 NWSL matches, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Twelve of 14 general managers in our anonymous survey said the NWSL should further relax rules restricting charter flights. Their reasons varied from easier logistics to player welfare, which includes not just more comfortable seats but health (think: sitting next to sick people on a plane) and safety as the league’s stars grow in notoriety.
“Everything we are trying to implement in this league, to grow, to invest in it — doing that to fly economy looks ridiculous,” one GM said.
STREAM FUTBOL AMERICAS ON ESPN+
Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar debate the biggest storylines and break down the best highlights that soccer in the Americas has to offer. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
Several GMs pointed out that anything could be considered a competitive advantage, and that one team spending more on charter flights is no different than another team spending more on facilities or staff.
The WNBA expects to spend $25 million annually on charter flights. Soccer teams and staffs are larger, but they also generally play less frequently than basketball teams. One GM estimated that a round-trip charter flight might cost $120,000 (varying greatly depending on destination), while a commercial flight might cost roughly one-third of that.
The financial cost is a trade-off for the physical cost on players.
“Honestly, it is a nightmare trying to figure out your schedule and do things that are appropriate [to the rules],” a different GM said. “You either end up having to sacrifice player rest and recovery to try and get home quicker, or you lose a day stuck in a place because you can’t get a flight until later that night and then you’ve lost a day, and then that’s not allowed to be a [required] day off. And so, then you have to give the next day off.”
Charter flights have been grouped under “workload management” by the NWSL Players Association, which includes a guaranteed midseason break and minimum of 28 days off during the offseason (concepts that existed in the previous CBA).
More money — and potential sharing
The salary cap will increase annually over the next six years, as will the minimum player salary. The new minimum salary of $48,500 in 2025 is over $9,000 more than originally planned under the old CBA; by 2030, the minimum salary will be $82,500.
A set base salary cap for the next six years — increasing to $3.3 million in 2025 and reaching $5.1 million by 2030 — also allows teams to prepare for the future in ways they could not previously. In the past, the NWSL would set its new team salary cap each year — often, many executives argued, so late in the year as to hamstring teams from making clear, long-term decisions. Now, everyone can plan ahead.
Notably, the largest annual jump is scheduled for between 2026 ($3.5 million) and 2027 ($4.4 million). That’s when the U.S. will co-host the men’s World Cup in 2026, an event that executives across the country believe will drive further growth in soccer at all levels.
play
1:35
Is parity that good of a thing for the NWSL?
Ali Krieger talks about why competitive balance is a good thing for the NWSL.
There is also potential for additional cap space based on the prior year’s media and sponsorship revenue. The league and NWSLPA say that will add at least $200,000 to the base cap each year. In short, there is an expectation that revenue sharing will pay dividends for players and the league. Award bonuses are set to rise, too, including the quadrupling of the bonus for the league MVP by 2027, from $5,000 to $20,000.
We asked GMs in our anonymous survey, largely conducted before the ratification of the new CBA, whether the salary cap should be abolished entirely, and only four of 14 said yes. The most common answer was that the cap needs to be more competitive with the global market and continue to scale up. Some sources still fear that even the new, expanded cap might be insufficient in the coming years.
“We have obviously lived through failures of past leagues,” one GM said. “We’ve walked it, we’ve lived it, but we also have better owners and better investors and people who are truly committed to this league right now. So, I understand the reasoning why to have a cap. But again, the way that the market is booming, the way that leagues across the world are operating, we need to really take a look at what’s going to ensure that we stay the most competitive.”
How about that calendar?
Will the NWSL continue to kick off its season in the early spring and play through late fall? Or will it reverse that and align with the European calendar, as the USL Super League has?
Multiple sources told ESPN recently that this remains the most divisive topic in the league’s boardroom. Nothing has changed yet, but the new CBA also allows for possible change.
Somewhat buried among the headline changes is this note from the NWSL: “Restrictions on the preseason start date and that of the NWSL Championship have been eliminated. The maximum number of games that may be played annually has increased.” Previously, the CBA required preseason to begin in a specific timeframe (late January/early February) and the season to end in late November. The removal of that language opens the door for calendar changes, should the league reach agreement on them.
THE NWSL ON ESPN+
Stream the NWSL live on ESPN+ and catch all the action. Sign up for ESPN+ now.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
• Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit
Any drastic change to the calendar — such as flipping the start and end of the season — would require one year’s notice from the league to players, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Expanded health improvements
“Parental leave and childcare benefits will be further expanded under the new agreement,” the NWSL said in a press release, and mental health services will be broadened. Teams will now be required to have 10 health professionals, up from six previously.
Under the new, expanded maternity rights, which a source confirmed to ESPN: If a player’s contract expires during her pregnancy, her team must invite her to the next preseason camp to earn her spot back. Earlier this year, FIFA released enhanced maternity rights for players globally.
The maximum term of a player’s mental leave remains the same: whichever is the shorter of six weeks or the remainder of their contract. Previously, however, a psychologist or psychiatrist had to recommend that the player take a mental leave. The new CBA expands the scope of mental health professionals who can make that recommendation. A licensed mental health provider is one of the required staff positions for each team.
What it means
NWSL leadership has long held the belief that the league is the global standard-bearer, both on and off the field. The new CBA attempts to maintain that status by setting new, future-proof minimum standards meant to help the NWSL compete with other leagues, such as England’s Women’s Super League. Mental health leave, for example, remains rare, and it positions the NWSL as a progressive, forward-thinking league.
Whether some of the business mechanisms put into place can keep the NWSL on pace with rival leagues is an important question to monitor over the next six years. Set salary cap bases and minimum salaries give the league and its teams unprecedented planning time, but the global women’s market is growing rapidly, evidenced by world record fees (paid by NWSL clubs, to be fair) over the winter transfer window, and continued spending this summer.
This new CBA sets benchmarks for competing leagues chase, and clearly departs from American sports traditions. The evidence is now tangible: The NWSL views itself as a global soccer league.
