The 2023 NWSL regular season kicks off this weekend, and commissioner Jessica Berman is expecting it to be one of the most successful opening weekends in league history.

“We’ve already surpassed the number of sales for opening weekend [over 2022], and we still have five days to go,” she told reporters Monday. “We know that that will just continue over the next five to six days, so we’re excited to break some records.”

Season ticket sales already are up 20% across the league compared to the entirety of the 2022 season, even with days to go before the 2023 season begins.

“We’re comparing a full season of sales to what is a prospective sale for the upcoming season,” Berman said. “So if you are really comparing apples to apples, which we will do, you would see what the number and the percent increases at the conclusion of 2023 … we will be excited to share that number and certainly expect it to be significantly more than a 20% increase.”

Berman described ticket revenue as “rocket fuel” for the league in its 11th year, building on the strong increases the league had already seen from 2021 to 2022. More than 1 million fans attended games in 2022, the first time the league has reached that milestone.

The NWSL also experienced a jump in viewership from 2021 to 2022, including a 71% jump for the NWSL Championship, which brought 915,000 fans to CBS in prime time.

The rising numbers have fortuitous timing as the NWSL actively negotiates its new broadcast contract. The league is in talks with a number of prospective partners, as the exclusive negotiating period with CBS expired in 2022 (though CBS still has its hat in the ring).

The NWSL’s previous contract, extended an extra year after the suspension of the regular season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was reportedly worth $3.5 million. Yet as expansion fees skyrocket, Berman is optimistic the NWSL can negotiate a rights deal that reflects where the league is going.

“The conversations we’ve had have been robust,” she said. “There are many interested parties in the media landscape.

“We’re looking at it both from a domestic as well as international perspective. And we think that there are some really interesting opportunities here and overseas to consider as we think about growing our brand globally and really claiming our spaces the best league in the world.”

Berman highlighted other investments the league has made in itself this offseason, including doubling the NWSL’s staff size and officially opening an office space on Madison Ave. in New York City. The league is preparing for its first season after investing in VAR, which includes a greater investment in production quality.

The changes are player-driven, Berman said.

“[Players] really felt that it needed to be a priority for the league to invest in broadcast production, and for the game itself to be able to showcase in a way, for fans to be able to appreciate their athleticism and how great the NWSL is,” she said. “That was a consistent theme, and almost every team of players that I spoke with, I think we also know that we expect to really have more visibility with our next media deal.”

For a league coming out the other side of years of controversy after bombshell reporting exposed years of league-wide toxicity and in some cases abuse, Berman wants the focus in 2023 to have room for storylines on the field as well as off it.

Two NWSL teams put up for sale in the aftermath of the abuse reports, the Portland Thorns and the Chicago Red Stars, are in “advanced stages” of the ownership transfer process, with the league eager to close a painful chapter and to get the final decisions right.

“The most important thing is that we have the right ownership in place who are not just resourced appropriately, but willing to invest what’s necessary to provide the professional environment that we all know is necessary,” Berman said. “And so long as we feel that the process is moving forward in good faith, we’ll continue to make sure that that is the utmost priority.”

WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 20, 2023

Young USWNT standout Ally Sentnor is on the move in the NWSL, exiting the last-place Utah Royals in a midseason trade to the league-leading Kansas City Current on Friday.

According to ESPN, Utah received a record-$600,000 transfer fee in return, as well as a future sell-on fee and performance add-ons in lieu of players.

"Thank you to the Royals for drafting this small town girl, and giving me the opportunity to start a lifelong dream of playing professional soccer," Sentnor said in a statement.

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The 2024 NWSL No. 1 draft pick scored three goals in her rookie season, and has one goal and one assist in her 13 matches starting for Utah in 2025.

Friday's deal now sends the 21-year-old Sentnor to the very top of the NWSL table, as the 2024 Young US Player of the Year gears up for a cultural reset — and a reunion with best friend Claire Hutton — as part of the NWSL-leading attack in Kansas City.

"Ally is a dynamic player who's tenacious on both sides of the ball and will be yet another threat on our roster," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in the club's announcement. "She's a fun and exciting player to watch. Ally has continued to elevate her game year after year, and we're eager for her to make her mark in Kansas City."

Olympic hurdles legend Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is making strides on the flat track, winning the 400-meter race at this weekend's 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships to book a spot representing Team USA at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Following her winning finish just two-tenths of a second shy of the US record of 48.70, McLaughlin-Levrone is fast closing in on the mark set by track icon Sanya Richards-Ross in 2006.

Notably, the four-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion opted to skip her signature 400-meter hurdles to focus on the 400-meter flat event, choosing to sit out her career-making race in order to chase a new goal.

"This is a challenge — I want to challenge myself," McLaughlin-Levrone explained. "I felt like this year, I wanted to step out of the box and really push myself in a different way."

"I think this year, and this event, has taught me patience," McLaughlin-Levrone said following her Saturday win. "I've learned a lot about myself…. Every day it's stepping on the track, being the best I can be, figuring out a race that is very foreign to me, and taking on new challenges and being comfortable doing it."

The newly minted US 400-meter champion will next hunt the event's world title at next month's 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo — the city where McLaughlin-Levrone earned her first two Olympic gold medals.

"That's a very daunting task in and of itself," she said about competing in the 400-meter race at Worlds. "It's a very competitive field.... I want to make sure I can give my all."

World No. 4 Brazil lifted the Copa América Femenina trophy for a record-extending ninth time on Saturday, winning the 2025 final by topping No. 18 Colombia in penalties after the Conmebol titans finished extra time in a hard-fought 4-4 draw.

Drama ran through the final from start to finish, as Colombia took aim at a first-ever continental title by snagging the lead three times — forcing Brazil to trail for the first time in a Copa América match since 2014.

The physical, often chippy game saw Colombian defender Jorelyn Carabalí narrowly avoid a red card in first-half stoppage time after head-butting Brazil forward Gio Garbelini in the box — the most egregious of the match's combined 36 fouls and eight yellow cards.

While several players on both teams had star turns, Brazil legend and tournament MVP Marta shone the brightest, keeping hopes alive for the defending champs by using the last kick in regulation to net a long-range equalizer that sent the final into extra time at a 3-3 draw.

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The second-half sub then handed Brazil their first lead of the match, masterfully tapping in the squad's fourth goal in the 105th minute — though fellow NWSL star Leicy Santos bent in a stellar 115th-minute free kick to keep Colombia in contention.

An NWSL player also reigned supreme in the ensuing seven-round penalty shootout, as Brazil goalkeeper Lorena blocked Carabalí's sudden-death shot to seal the championship win.

With the 2025 Copa América now in their trophy case, Brazil is eyeing their next major tournament appearance as hosts of the 2027 World Cup, though 39-year-old Marta's future with the team remains uncertain.

The Minnesota Lynx made headlines on Sunday, as the league leaders finalized a trade to acquire 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington from the No. 11 Dallas Wings.

In return for sending Carrington to Minnesota, Sunday's trade saw Dallas receive forward Diamond Miller, guard Karlie Samuelson, and a second-round pick in the 2027 draft.

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Minnesota's move to secure Carrington comes in the wake of No. 2 New York successfully signing 2019 WNBA champion Emma Meesseman, with the Belgium international logging 11 points in her Liberty debut — an 87-78 win over the last-place Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

"She made the wrong choice," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Meesseman's decision, after the 2025 EuroBasket champ reportedly considered joining Minnesota for her WNBA return.

As for the Wings, Dallas now appears to be shifting gears.

After stocking up on veteran talent like Carrington and forward NaLyssa Smith during the offseason, this weekend's trade — alongside the Sunday waiving of veteran Wings center Teaira McCowan — has Dallas seemingly undertaking a more methodical, youth-focused rebuild around their 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers.

In addition to this weekend's roster refresh, the Wings previously dealt Smith away to the No. 7 Las Vegas Aces earlier this summer, snagging a 2027 first-round draft pick in return.

Before grabbing top talent in 2027, however, Dallas could be on track to snag a second straight No. 1 pick, as the Wings are currently skidding toward a shot at securing the top 2026 draftee.