The NWSL and its players association have agreed to a collective bargaining deal that will eliminate the draft, guarantee contracts and grant unrestricted free agency, giving players unprecedented control over where they play. The agreement, one of the most progressive, pro-player labor pacts in the history of U.S. women’s sports, will enhance player compensation and benefits significantly, increase investment in staffing, charter flights and facilities, and allow the league to create a year-round schedule.
“Given our vision to be the best league in the world, we determined that this was the right time to align with global standards and achieve long term labor peace,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “This CBA gives us agency over our business and gives the players agency over their careers.”
The collective bargaining agreement, which extends the current CBA by four years, through 2030, “revolutionizes the game, raises standards, and innovates the business,” Berman added.
The provisions include:
- The owners have agreed to align NWSL standard player agreements with FIFA regulations on the status and transfer of players, granting unrestricted free agency, guaranteeing all contracts and eliminating the NWSL discovery rule, draft and future expansion drafts. In addition, all trades, intra-league or inter-league transfers will require player consent.
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The agreement will raise the minimum salary, set an annual salary cap and create incentive alignments for players and clubs by increasing the salary cap based on league revenues. To maximize the commercial benefit, players will be more accessible to the fans and media and the NWSL has the exclusive rights to commercialize player performance data.
The salary cap has been negotiated into the CBA with two components: a base salary cap at prescribed levels and a supplement that will be determined based on the prior year’s media and sponsorship revenue. The base salary cap for the NWSL will grow from $3.3 million in 2025 to $5.1 million in 2030, with an expectation of further increases based on the revenue-sharing model, further incentivizing a collective ambition to expand NWSL revenues.
There will be no limit for an individual player’s maximum annual salary, and the league minimum salary will rise from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 in 2030.
- Virtually all end-of-season competition bonuses will double their current value beginning in 2027, including those awarded for the NWSL Shield and league championship winners, NWSL Best 11 and other individual awards. The cash award paid to NWSL’s most valuable player will quadruple.
- Parental leave and child-care benefits will be further expanded under the new agreement, and mental health services and mental health leave policies will be broadened. In addition, mandates for the number of health professionals utilized by each club will rise from six to 10, including physicians, athletic trainers, a physical therapist, a sports scientist, a licensed mental health provider and massage therapists.
- Travel policies and accommodation requirements will be adjusted to the new terms of the agreement. Charter flights will be allowed for up to six legs within the league season, with additional charter flights required in a variety of scenarios to ensure player health and safety requirements are satisfied.
The new CBA should help keep the league an attractive destination for foreign players. This season, more than 1 in 5 roster spots — more than 110 in all — have gone to players from 35 foreign countries. It will also help keep NWSL’s teams competitive with those in other leagues that have begun offering contract extensions and child care to players who want to start families while continuing their soccer careers.
This month, Italian club AC Milan announced it will give players a one-year contract extension on the same economic terms if their contract was due to expire during the season in which they became pregnant. The club will also provide assistance with child care during sports activities and support for flights, accommodation and other travel expenses for the children of the player who carried the pregnancy or is the sole guardian.
“The NWSL prioritized terms to ensure that the league can attract, develop and retain the most talented players in the world,” said Tatjana Haenni, NWSL’s chief sporting director. “Soccer is a uniquely global game with roots in every country and the new CBA allows us to offer the world’s most elite training and playing environment, giving players the ability to succeed at the top national and international competitions.”
