Maitane López Millán #77 of Gotham FC defends as she battles against Jordyn Huitema #9 of OL Reign for the ball during the NWSL Cup Final game between NJ/NY Gotham City FC and OL Reign at Snapdragon Stadium on November 11, 2023 in San Diego, CA.
Michael Janosz | ISI Photos | Getty Images
The National Women's Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association have agreed to eliminate the draft and grant all players freedom of action, a move unprecedented in major U.S. professional sports.
As part of a new collective bargaining agreement, which extends the current contract until 2030, the two sides sought to give players more control over where they play, which could help with the recruitment of athletes who can join top clubs around the world.
“Unlike many other sports, we compete in a global labor market for talent,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in an interview with CNBC. “So if we want to attract, retain and develop the best players in the world, we believe we'll be best positioned if we remove that artificial barrier and put ourselves on a level playing field with the rest of the world.”
The new CBA, announced Thursday, also increases the league’s minimum salary from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 in 2030. The base salary cap, or the pool of money designated for each team, goes from $3.3 million in 2025 to $5.1 million in 2030. Individual players will have no salary cap, and teams will have discretion over how to allocate salaries.
The CBA also allows the salary cap to increase in future seasons as part of the league's revenue-sharing model in which players could benefit from additional sponsorships and media deals.
“We want them to be involved in the game,” Berman said. “We want them to know that they, too, will benefit from that growth.”
The growth of the NWSL is underscored by recent increases in attendance, viewership and team ratings.
Last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger and journalist Willow Bay acquired a majority stake in Angel City FC in a deal that valued the team at $250 million, making it the most valuable women's sports team in the world.
In November, the league signed a media deal worth $240 million over four years, 40 times more than its previous agreement.
Berman said that in light of the recent rise of women's soccer, the NWSL opted to renegotiate its CBA with the NWSL Players Association two years early to give future investors and other partners more visibility into the future of the business model.
“We actually thought it was very important to proactively engage the union and really extend the life of our labor agreement so that when we're building the business from an ownership and investment perspective, from a sponsor investment perspective, from a media investment perspective, there's no fear of disruption or distractions from work for the foreseeable future,” Berman said. “We think this next phase of growth is going to free up an incredible amount of investment and resources.”
