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Rachel Corsie stuck with NWSLPA, and it paid off in historic CBA

Rachel Corsie is still grappling with her unexpected transfer from the Kansas City Current. (Trask Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

It has been quite a week for Rachel Corsie.

When the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association ratified the league’s first-ever CBA earlier this week, it signaled a new era for professional women’s soccer in the U.S. and an emotionally conflicting farewell for Corsie.

The former Kansas City Current defender concluded her run as the NWSLPA’s vice president on Tuesday after the long journey, through many tense rounds of negotiations, toward reaching the CBA. Corsie’s departure was the result of her unceremonious exit from the Current last month.

Kansas City agreed to transfer Corsie to Aston Villa after she was informed “the club no longer wanted me to play for them,” as she wrote in an op-ed for The Press and Journal on Jan. 28. The decision was made even more surprising by Kansas City’s announcement last August that it had extended Corsie’s contract through the 2023 season and named her captain.

“Last year was one of probably my worst experiences to a football capacity,” Corsie told Just Women’s Sports this week, adding that the club had let her down on more occasions than the contract reversal.

The easy option would have been to leave it all behind and start fresh with her new team in the Women’s Super League in Europe.

But Corsie stuck with the NWSLPA, a group that had spent hours and hours on the phone together over the last few months, pushing for their demands in CBA negotiations. This week, on the night of the player vote, she lay sick in bed in her new apartment across the ocean, staying awake into the ungodly hours of the night on the Zoom call.

“Never at any point, when I was going through everything with Kansas City, did I think, ‘Well, I’m just going to forget about the CBA now, because that’s not my issue anymore,’” Corsie said. “Like that was almost the polar opposite of how I felt. It was more, ‘I’m going to stick with the people who are in my corner, who are on my team, who I want.’

“I would do whatever needed to look out for them, and I know that they would do the same for me.”

To Corsie, who joined the NWSLPA three years ago, the experience was like being on a “mini team.” After the Scottish national team captain’s first year as a representative, NWSLPA founder Yael Averbuch West called her to ask if she would take on the role of vice president.

“I just remember feeling really grateful for that opportunity,” Corsie said.

This year, the way players treated her and one another served as motivation to stick with the CBA project, all the way through until the night they put it to a vote.

“[It was] a reminder to myself that this is absolutely something you’re passionate about and that’s absolutely something that you’re going to see through to the end,” she said. “It made you really feel the strength of the player pool, that unity and togetherness, and I think that’s the type of feeling that you’ll remember forever.

“I’ll always remember 2021 as being the year that we worked through the CBA and that we got it through.”

The CBA, announced on Monday night, will usher in a 160 percent increase in minimum salary to $35,000 per year, free agency starting in 2023 for players with a minimum of six service years (2024 for players with five years), eight weeks paid parental leave and up to six months paid mental health leave.

“We know where this league started in 2013 and everything that we have been involved with and gone through,” said USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “So just the fact that we have such an agreement, historical agreement like this makes me happy.”

The players felt they came away with big wins on many components they considered high priorities in the CBA, such as free agency and player movement, Corsie said. That included guarantees like the maternity policy, which can make an impact beyond the soccer community.

When asked for her thoughts on what aspects of the CBA could have been taken further, Corsie pointed to the length of the agreement, which runs for five years through the 2026 season, and teams guaranteeing contract offers.

“I still think that’s a long time. I think that benefited the league, and the Board of Governors’ side of things more than ours,” she said. “I think a contract is a contract so if you sign a piece of paper and the other side signs a piece of paper, I think that should stand.”

Those two factors aside, Corsie and others in the NWSL this week celebrated the “incredible number of wins” in what is a historic moment for women’s soccer in this country.

“It shows that everybody is in it for the long haul and the league is now established — it’s going to be here, ideally, forever,” Houston Dash head coach James Clarkson said on a media call this week. “It’s just going to get stronger and stronger. As the league expands, more teams come in, the quality is just going to go through the roof, and it will be the best league in the world.”

“I’m just really excited for all the players carrying that future,” Corsie said. “I think it’s amazing to have been a part of it.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

USC Legend Cheryl Miller Headlines AP Women’s College Basketball All-Time First Team

USC legend Cheryl Miller looks on during a 1983 NCAA basketball game.
USC legend Cheryl Miller headlines the AP All-Time First Team. (David Madison/Getty Images)

The AP Women's College Basketball Poll turns 50 next year, and the publication began celebrating its rankings run a few months early by asking 13 former players and AP sportswriters to fill an All-Time team roster with the NCAA's best.

First Team honors went to USC legend Cheryl Miller, UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, all-time leading NCAA scorer and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, and position-defining Tennessee forward Candace Parker.

Standout Huskies Sue Bird and Maya Moore also snagged AP All-Time nods, earning Second Team spots alongside Virginia star guard Dawn Staley, Tennessee forward and three-time national champion Chamique Holdsclaw, and three-time AIAW champion and MVP Lusia Harris from Delta State.

Even the AP list's reserves are full of legends, with basketball pioneers like Kansas star Lynette Woodard and UCLA's Ann Meyers Drysdale joining Lisa Leslie (USC) and Sheryl Swoopes (Texas Tech) as well as current WNBA superstars A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Brittney Griner (Baylor) on the All-Time bench.

"Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports," Clark said in response to her AP All-Time First Team nod. "It's fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together."

"What an accomplishment and what an honor," said fellow First Team honoree Taurasi. "There's so many great women who paved the way."

Anonymous WNBA Insiders Reveal Leadership Concerns as CBA Deadline Looms

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media before Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert appears to be sticking around as CBA negotiations continue. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline looming, ESPN recently conducted an anonymous survey of team owners, executives, players, and other insiders about the simmering tensions between athletes and league leadership in the wake of Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's viral exit interview last month.

"Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players, it's a death spiral," a team executive told ESPN after fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert at this year's WNBA Finals.

"Change is a must," another exec said in the anonymous WNBA survey. "Either Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role."

That said, not everyone agreed, with one owner saying, "If you fire her now, it's admitting weakness. It's a terrible look for the league. I can't stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire [Engelbert] — even though I think she should be."

CBA negotiations have also remained frosty this month, with Las Vegas Aces star guard Chelsea Gray telling ESPN that the talks are "not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It's market share, it's salaries, it's player safety, it's everything."

With the parties still reportedly far from a deal, the threat of a work stoppage next season hangs over the stalled proceedings.

"I don't think it's going to be done by Halloween," a league source told ESPN. "[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn't benefit anybody."

Four Clubs Clinch 2025 NWSL Playoffs in High-Stakes Weekend

Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan raises her arm in triumph in a San Diego Wave huddle after a 2025 NWSL match.
The No. 5 San Diego Wave clinched a spot in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs with Saturday's 6-1 win over the No. 14 Chicago Stars. (Orlando Ramirez/NWSL via Getty Images)

Just one ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs remains unpunched after four different clubs clinched postseason berths over the weekend.

The No. 4 Seattle Reign clinched with a 2-1 win over the No. 12 Utah Royals on Friday before the No. 5 San Diego Wave emphatically slammed the door with a 6-1 Saturday drubbing of the No. 14 Chicago Stars, while the No. 6 Portland Thorns joined the postseason party with a 2-0 Sunday win over No. 11 Angel City.

As for No. 7 Gotham FC, a tense 2-2 draw with No. 8 Louisville propelled the Bats to their third consecutive postseason appearance on Sunday, leaving Racing still poised to earn a club-first playoff spot with a post-international break win.

The newly clinched quartet will join the previously postseason-bound No. 1 Kansas City Current, No. 2 Washington Spirit, and No. 3 Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

Only one team — No. 9 North Carolina — can challenge Louisville for the eighth and final berth, as weekend results saw both the No. 10 Houston Dash and No. 11 Angel City eliminated while the Courage took down No. 13 Bay FC 4-1 on Friday to remain in contention.

In order to snag that eighth spot, however, North Carolina will need a 2025 Decision Day win over Gotham — plus a Louisville loss or draw against Bay FC.

"The reality is, we are still in control of our destiny with one game to go," Racing captain Janine Sonis said on Sunday. "[It's] not like us to not to keep things interesting."

With one postseason spot and the majority of the 2025 Playoffs seeding still up for grabs, the NWSL is gearing up for yet another game-changing Decision Day on November 2nd.

Houston Ends Kansas City Unbeaten Streak as Temwa Chawinga Exits with Injury

Kansas City Current defender Ellie Wheeler rests her hands on the shoulders of striker Temwa Chawinga after a 2025 NWSL match.
Kansas City Current star Temwa Chawinga exited Saturday's 1-0 loss in the 29th minute. (Kyle Rivas/NWSL via Getty Images)

The No. 1 Kansas City Current hit an unexpected skid on Saturday, when the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the No. 10 Houston Dash — and lost their star striker, Temwa Chawinga, to injury along the way.

Despite leading the match in shots, shots on goal, and possession, the defeat snapped the Current's 17-game unbeaten streak, leaving the club one result short of setting a new franchise record.

"Sometimes things like this will happen," Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "You're going to dominate, you're going to do everything well, but you're not going to score a goal…. I'm glad it happened now and not two games from now."

The loss stings, but with the top postseason berth already secured, Kansas City's concern turns to their 2024 MVP after Chawinga exited the match with a non-contact injury.

A knock to the upper right leg saw the Malawi international wheeled off the pitch in the 29th minute, with Andonovski later clarifying that it was not a knee injury.

Considered a frontrunner to repeat as both NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, the 27-year-old leads the league in scoring this season with 15 goals over 23 appearances.

While Kansas City is still awaiting a specific diagnosis for their star striker, time could be on the Current's side, as this week's international break gives Chawinga a moment to rest before her club closes out their 2025 NWSL regular season — and, more importantly, takes aim at a championship run.

How to watch the next Kansas City Current match

The league-leading Current will be back in action on NWSL Decision Day, with Kansas City closing out their 2025 regular-season campaign by hosting the No. 5 San Diego Wave on Sunday, November 2nd.

The time and broadcast details for the 2025 season's Decision Day will drop at a later date at NWSLSoccer.com.

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