Did Trinity Rodman save the NWSL?
It’s no secret that Europe has taken some of America’s best female soccer players. Recently, both Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma left the league to play for Chelsea, and Sam Coffey has left to play for Manchester City. Players have been leaving America for Europe for years.
And now, the league almost lost Rodman to the Europeans.
After her contract with the Spirit ended at the end of the 2025 season, Rodman was unsure where she would end up next season. She was an unattached player who had offers from European teams, but she wanted to stay home in D.C. with the Spirit. But could the Spirit afford to keep Rodman?
There are multiple reasons why a player would want to play overseas in Europe—the different styles of play, the fan base and the money. Rodman was debating this route, and the NWSL had to act fast to keep its top talent.
This is not the first time that Rodman has been at the center of the conversation regarding high-paying contracts.
Rodman was drafted second in the 2021 draft by the Spirit right out of high school at the age of 19. During her rookie season, she won the NWSL championship with her new team.
After winning the title, she signed a four-year contract worth $1.1 million, which made her the highest-paid player at the time.
As her contract ended this past season, she was debating a new contract with the Spirit that would keep her in D.C. until 2029. The contract included a salary of $1 million annually for four years. The league found this contract too expensive as each team has a salary cap of $3.5 million per season.
The NWSLPA (NWSL Player Association) knows how important Rodman is to the league’s growth. They were ready to fight to keep her in the league.
The NWSLPA filed a grievance against the league on Rodman’s behalf. The PA wanted the high-impact player mechanism to be set in effect. This would allow teams to go over their salary cap by $1 million for high-impact players.
What does it take to be considered a high-impact player?
According to the league, players must meet one of the following commercial or sporting criteria to be considered a high-impact player:
- Player is on SportsPro Media Top 150 Most Marketable Athletes within the year before the current league season.
- Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d’Or voting two years before the current league season.
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of the Guardian Top 100 football players in the world for two years before the current season.
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of ESPN FC Top 50 football players in the world in the two years before the current season.
- Top 11 minutes played for the USWNT in the prior two calendar years for field players for all competition types.
- Top one minute played for USWNT in the prior two calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types.
- Player selected as NWSL MVP Finalist within the previous two league seasons.
- Player selected to the End of Year NWSL Best XI First Team within the previous two league seasons.
The NWSLPA pushed for the league to implement HIP mechanisms, which will take effect July 1. Because of this, Rodman signed a historic contract and will be staying in D.C.
Rodman signed her historic contract on Jan 22, 2026. Her contract details that she will be paid a $2 million annual salary plus bonuses. She will be playing with the Spirit until the 2028 season concludes.
Not only does this benefit Rodman, but it also benefits the league. Now that teams can pay certain players beyond the salary cap, they will be able to keep and secure big talent. This will allow the team to grow as bigger talent brings in more viewership.
So, did Rodman save the NWSL? Yes, I believe with help from the PA, Rodman saved the NWSL.