Despite missing the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season due to injury, USC superstar JuJu Watkins is staying busy, with the junior guard buying into 2026 NWSL expansion side Boston Legacy FC's investment group this week.
Besides padding her portfolio, the move also sees Watkins make history as the first-ever NCAA athlete to actively invest in a professional women's sports franchise.
"Boston Legacy FC is creating a space for women to achieve, lead, and inspire others at the highest level," Watkins said in a Thursday club press release. "I'm proud to be part of the movement pushing women's sports forward."
The 20-year-old reigning Naismith Player of the Year now joins a Boston Legacy investment core that includes the likes of Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams as well as three-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman and actor Elizabeth Banks.
"JuJu's investment marks a groundbreaking moment for women's sports and the power of NIL," said Legacy owner Jennifer Epstein. "She's showing that today's student-athletes aren't just building their own brands — they're shaping the future of the game."
How to become a part of Boston Legacy FC history
Fans looking to take part in NWSL history can snag seats to the first-ever Boston Legacy match at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Tickets to the expansion club's debut are currently on sale at BostonLegacyFC.com.
Incoming NWSL side Denver Summit FC will kick off in style, with the 2026 expansion team announcing Monday that the club will make its big debut on March 28th at Empower Field at Mile High — the home stadium of the city's local NFL team, the Denver Broncos.
The venue shift comes shortly after the club surpassed 15,000 season ticket deposits, setting a new NWSL record for an expansion franchise.
"This will be an unforgettable moment for our club, our players, our city, and our fans," said team president Jen Millet about the inaugural match. "We're honored to play our first home match and host 'The Kickoff' in such an iconic stadium."
With the ability to hold a crowd of 76,125, Empower Field could also provide an opportunity for Denver to immediately contend for the NWSL's single-game attendance record, which currently stands at 40,091 fans after Bay FC shattered the previous record at San Francisco's Oracle Park in August.
"This venue has hosted many memorable moments in Colorado sports history, and we look forward to working together to bring a best-in-class experience for Summit FC fans," said Broncos president Damani Leech in Monday's club statement.
How to attend the Denver Summit FC "Kickoff" match
Though the expansion side's debut opponent is still unknown, fans can be a part of NWSL history by snagging tickets to fill the Mile High City's NFL stadium at the March 28th inaugural Denver Summit match.
"The Kickoff" tickets will go on sale at DenverSummitFC.com on Wednesday, November 12th.
The NWSL just added another high-profile minority owner, with Chicago Bears star Caleb Williams buying into the ownership group of 2026 expansion team Boston Legacy FC on Thursday.
Via his strategic investment firm 888 Midas, the NFL quarterback joins fellow big-name athletes Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and Olympic gold medal-winning US gymnast Aly Raisman as Boston Legacy investors.
"Women's sports is a movement, and I admire and respect the work that the team and the NWSL continues to do to grow the sport and empower future generations of athletes," the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner said in the club's Thursday announcement. "Boston Legacy FC is building something special, and we're proud to be a part of what's next."
Boston Legacy controlling owner Jennifer Epstein also noted that the investment from Williams "highlights the powerful momentum of women's professional soccer."
"It symbolizes a new era of cross-league support and recognition," said Epstein. "With best-in-class athletes, a rapidly growing fan base, and undeniable energy around the NWSL, we are proud to welcome Caleb as a partner as we prepare for the 2026 inaugural season."
Athlete investment in women's sports continues to grow, with many teams now following the micro-ownership model made famous by Angel City FC in 2022.
As the 2025 NWSL season winds down, top players are on the move as teams across the league look to stock their rosters in order to either boost their postseason odds or hit the ground running in 2026.
Incoming expansion side Boston Legacy FC is stocking up their 2026 debut roster, adding 18-year-old phenom Chloe Ricketts to their midfield and Brazilian international Amanda Gutierres — a 2025 Ballon d'Or nominee and two-time Golden Boot winner in Brazil's top-flight league — to their front line last week.
Along with that offensive firepower, Boston is on track to gain one of the NWSL's top veteran goalkeepers, with ESPN reporting last week that NC Courage net-minder Casey Murphy — a longtime USWNT backup to legend Alyssa Naeher — inked a deal to join the Legacy as soon as she becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025 season.
The NWSL newcomer isn't the only club making moves, however.
Angel City and Portland have also been busy, with the Thorns sending midfielder Hina Sugita to the LA club in exchange for defender MA Vignola and $600,000 in intra-league transfer funds last week.
While there's no deadline for finalizing 2026 free agent transactions, the 2025 NWSL trade window officially closes this Thursday, leaving playoff-hopeful teams scrambling to pad their rosters while other clubs shift to focus on the future.
The NWSL is changing up its athlete acquisition process, with the league announcing on Wednesday that it will replace the CBA-eliminated draft with a pair of player combines starting this December.
Dividing prospects into two groups — adults and college-aged (U18-23) and youth (U13-17) — the three-day programs will showcase player talent and allow clubs to sign standouts as free agents.
To maintain competitive balance across the NWSL and set incoming 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC up for success, the league already revised several roster-building mechanisms, including adopting a new allocation money structure as well as intra-league loans.
Like the abolishment of the draft and the new mechanism requiring athletes to acquiesce to their own trades, the new NWSL combines will give players more freedom over their careers while also better aligning the growing US league with global soccer standards.
"As the women's soccer landscape continues to rapidly evolve, a Combine is a strategic platform that will allow us to support NWSL clubs in early talent evaluation and provide players with exposure to a professional environment," said league director of youth development Karla Thompson in Wednesday's statement.
"This initiative is about widening the lens...and ensuring that talent, wherever it resides, has a continued pathway to our league."
The NWSL is expanding its footprint across ESPN, with the broadcaster signing on to carry 16 additional regular-season games in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, upping the platform's total to 33 matches per year.
ESPN will also introduce a season-long "Match of the Week" centerpiece series, as well as live coverage of NWSL Decision Day, when eight concurrent matches will close out the season on the same day.
"The NWSL showcases some of the best athletes in the world," ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said in a press release. "We are proud to increase our commitment on ABC and ESPN, and to further elevate women's sports and the athlete stories."
This media rights extension builds on the league's ongoing blockbuster four-year, $240 million TV deal with ESPN, adding inventory for the final two seasons of the November 2023 agreement.
The deal expansion comes in light of the league's significant growth this season, with the NWSL seeing gains across both attendance and viewership, including a 72% year-over-year ratings rise on ESPN.
"This supplemental agreement underscores the growing demand for women's soccer and ensures our players and clubs receive the visibility they deserve on some of the most prominent sports platforms," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement.
Bay FC is shifting gears as the NWSL's 12th-place team's postseason hopes slip away, with the 2024 expansion side announcing a plan to part ways with inaugural head coach Albertin Montoya at the end of the 2025 season.
"I have so much love for these players, staff, and fans," Montoya said in Monday's club release. "We've built a culture and a style of play that I believe will compete for championships for years to come."
Brought on in 2023, Montoya led Bay FC to 11 victories in 2024, setting a league record for wins by an expansion team in its debut season.
Under Montoya, Bay FC also became just the second expansion club to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs in their inaugural campaign, but the team has fallen down the table this year amid accusations of fostering a toxic work environment.
The team also recently lost a high-profile player in Nigerian star Asisat Oshoala, who signed with Saudi Premier League side Al Hilal last week.
Bay Collective CEO Kay Cossington and club sporting director Matt Potter stated that they will work together to hire a replacement for Montoya prior to the 2026 NWSL season.
"Bay FC's startup phase is ending and we're moving to our next phase of growth," Bay FC chair Alan Waxman added in the team's statement.
The Chicago Stars are moving out of Bridgeview, the NWSL club announced on Wednesday, signing a one-year deal to play at Northwestern University's Martin Stadium on the shore of Lake Michigan for the 2026 season.
Currently home to the Big Ten school's lacrosse and football teams, the open-air, turf-field stadium in Evanston accommodates 12,000 fans — a steep drop from the 20,000-seat capacity SeatGeek Stadium where the Stars have competed for the last 10 years, often struggling to fill the stands.
"What began as a temporary lakefront home for Northwestern football has quickly become a unique venue that has welcomed collegiate, professional, and international competition," said Northwestern director of athletics Mark Jackson in a club statement.
The Stars have never had a full-time home inside Chicago's city limits, making their 2011 debut at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, before moving to Bridgeview ahead of the 2016 season.
Stars fans will have a sneak peek of what it's like to attend an NWSL game at the team's 2026 digs this Sunday, when a surging Chicago side will host the reigning champion Orlando Pride in a pre-announced match at Martin Stadium.
"This is just one step in a series of changes, including the recent hiring of renowned head coach Martin Sjögren,... [to] set the club on a new trajectory," noted Chicago Stars president Karen Leetzow.
The Chicago Stars have landed a head coach, with the NWSL confirming on Wednesday that Hammarby manager Martin Sjögren will join the team when the top-flight Swedish league's season ends in November.
Under Sjögren, Hammarby currently sits second in the Damallsvenskan, with a 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-in opportunity set for later this month.
No stranger to the global stage, the incoming Chicago Stars coach led the Norway women's national team from 2016 to 2022, leading the Grasshoppers to two group-stage exits at the 2017 and 2022 Euro tournaments as well as a World Cup quarterfinal appearance in 2019.
Calling the NWSL "the most competitive league in the world," Sjögren told The Athletic on Monday that he wants "to build [the Chicago Stars] in a different way," by combining European-style tactics with US soccer's physicality.
"We want to create something sustainable that could be successful," Sjögren explained. "You can always choose to put a lot of money in and buy the best players, but when the money runs out, then you don't have a team anymore."
With just one win on the season, the Stars currently sit 13th on the 2025 NWSL table, with interim managers Masaki Hemmi and Ella Masar splitting coaching duties after Chicago fired head coach Lorne Donaldson in April.
Prior to Sjögren taking the reins ahead of the 2026 NWSL season, his longtime assistant Anders Jacobson will join the Stars "in the coming weeks" to serve as interim manager, with current interim head coach Masar then shifting back into an assistant capacity.
Jacobson will subsequently join Masar as an assistant when Sjögren arrives.
"Martin has been someone I've known and highly respected for almost 10 years," said Masar in a club statement. "Chicago is in good hands."
Denver Summit FC scored its first-ever player this week, with ESPN reporting Monday that the 2026 expansion side has landed 2024 NWSL champion and Colorado product Ally Watt from the Orlando Pride.
The 28-year-old forward has logged one goal and one assist in her 13 matches so far this season, and posted three goals and four assists in Orlando's record-breaking 2024 campaign.
"One thing that makes us really unique is this talent pool of Colorado players," Denver Summit GM Curt Johnson told ESPN about the club's aim to welcome homegrown athletes. "Colorado has been fertile ground for this sport for a long time. We're going to dig into that, and we're going to hire people that have made their names as a result of their upbringing in soccer in Colorado."
In return for Watt, Orlando will receive $75,000 in expansion allocation money and $37,500 in transfer funds.
While the trade is a done deal, the Denver Summit immediately loaned Watt back to the Pride for the rest of the 2025 season, with Orlando also gaining additional salary cap relief with the temporary loan.
Such intra-league loans are new to the NWSL, introduced in part to help incoming teams Denver and fellow 2026 addition Boston Legacy FC build out their rosters without an expansion draft.
Both franchises have a cache of over $1 million in allocation money available to add players beyond the league's salary cap and transfer thresholds.
With that in mind, the Boston Legacy has opted to stock up on both international signings as well as up-and-coming US talent in recent weeks.