NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke said the new collective bargaining agreement with the NWSL brought “relief and joy,” with the elimination of player drafting and modifications to parental leave and child care benefits as two of the key changes.
The new collective bargaining agreement went into effect on July 30, when it was approved by the players, but not all provisions, such as new salary caps, will take effect midseason. Also, free agency begins on Sept. 1 this year, while in future seasons it will begin on July 1.
Burke said the results of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia were one of the catalysts for the new agreement.
He [United States]”Canada and Brazil, the countries that produce the most internationals in our league, were eliminated prematurely in our view,” Burke said.
“They [NWSL] “He came to us and said, 'We recognize that some of the things you've been saying are undeniably true, the world is passing us by and we need to make significant changes if we want to keep up.'”
The elimination of the player draft makes the NWSL the first major American professional sports league not to have a draft, meaning players must consent to transfers.
“We heard horror stories from players who read about it. [drafts] “At Twitter, they had to change their lives and move to another country in a short amount of time. I think the important thing is to recognize that people have lives, they're not just one-dimensional athletes,” Burke said.
“Both the no-trade clause and the family benefits acknowledge that there is a lived experience in this league. It's not as simple as just showing up and playing football. If you're traded without your consent, it means you might not know you're going to be traded. It's a surprise.”
Burke said family-building benefits and expanded parental leave will give more freedom to players who want to have children.
“Many players don't have to choose between being parents and being players. Being a working mother is difficult.
“I appreciate that the league was willing to make some substantial changes and provide some benefits that would make it possible for players to have children while playing or… be able to take action now and take steps, such as freezing their eggs or considering IVF or surrogacy, to be able to think about having children when their playing career is over.”
The league's salary cap remains the same, although it will increase substantially. The salary cap will be made up of two components: a base salary cap and an additional fund based on advertising and sponsorship revenue from the previous year.
The base salary cap will be $3.3 million in 2025, a 20% increase from the 2024 figure of $2.75 million. The base cap will then increase with each year of the CBA, up to $5.1 million in 2030.
Information from ESPN's Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.
