The NWSL may be forcing Washington Spirit superstar Trinity Rodman to "look elsewhere" for her next contract, after the league vetoed a multi-million dollar offer from her current squad last week, Rodman's agent told CBS Mornings last Friday.
"We worked really hard to put together an agreement that we felt complied with the CBA and would keep Trinity in the league for the foreseeable future," said Rodman's rep Mike Senkowski.
"With no certain way to get her fair market value within the NWSL, naturally, that forces you and encourages you to look elsewhere," he continued.
While the fight to keep Rodman Stateside is not over, with the NWSLPA filing a grievance last week arguing that the league office's mandate to reject the Spirit's back-loaded contract — worth more than $1 million per year — is a free agency violation, the NWSL appears unwilling to budge.
In a weekend clarification to The Athletic, an NWSL source noted that commissioner Jessica Berman contests that the Spirit's offer to raise Rodman's compensation in the contract's later years would pull Washington out of salary cap compliance in 2028, with the league disagreeing with the club regarding the potential cap growth under a new broadcast deal.
The league source also noted that the offer has a built-in buyout clause, which the NWSL believes signals an admission of possible salary cap circumvention.
As the Washington Spirit and NWSL fans hope for a win from the union's grievance, the door to recruit Rodman elsewhere seems to be wide open for overseas clubs — particularly those with deep pockets.
The NWSL Players Association has filed a grievance against the NWSL in response to the league's reported veto of a multi-million-dollar contract offer from the Washington Spirit to retain star forward Trinity Rodman, alleging that blocking the deal puts the NWSL in violation of multiple sections of the current CBA.
Commissioner Jessica Berman reportedly vetoed a four-year deal that would see Rodman earn an average of more than $1 million per year, saying the back-loaded structure of the contract violated "the spirit" of the league's rules by trying to "circumvent" the salary cap.
Calling it a "flagrant" violation of Rodman's free agency rights, the NWSLPA instead asserts that scaled contracts are legal under the current CBA, which includes a section specifically stating that "a player's free agency rights as set forth herein supersede any other inconsistent NWSL rules, regulations, handbooks, or competition guidelines."
"It comes down to a very simple premise," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic. "If they can mess with Trinity Rodman's free agency rights, they can mess with anyone's. And we won't stand for that."
Estimated salary cap growth could back Rodman's deal
Notably, while the salary cap increases each year, team revenue share from the previous season is tacked onto the base annual number, meaning all multi-year player contracts are calculated using best estimates for future salary cap figures.
In Rodman's case, the Spirit are estimating that a new NWSL media rights contract in 2028 will likely raise the salary cap beyond its current base of $4.7 million.
The CBA also provides for a contract buyout for teams to remain in compliance should those salary cap estimates supersede the actual cap in the future.
"All parties can do is make a good faith estimate of what they think it's going to be to negotiate fair market value," Burke explained.
League sources did confirm to The Athletic that the NWSL would approve a base $1 million-per-year offer to Rodman immediately, if presented.
While the exact amounts and structural details of the Spirit's offer to Rodman — and the NWSL veto — remain murky, the league will soon have to answer to the grievance as the Players Association pursues a clear answer.