NWSL heavy-hitters are up for grabs, as the players association released the 2027 free agent list, clearing eligible players to begin scouting contracts from clubs across the league.
Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Sophia Wilson (Portland), and Marta (Orlando) headline this season’s class.
Other standouts include Gotham’s Ann-Katrin Berger, Jess Carter, and Midge Purce, Chicago’s Alyssa Naeher, Portland’s Jessie Fleming, San Diego’s Adrianna Leon, and Washington’s Andi Sullivan and Hal Hershfelt.
Under the NWSL’s CBA, any player whose contract expires at the end of 2026 can now begin negotiating 2027 deals regardless of service time.
Players can sign with a new team at any time, but can’t join that club before January 1st, 2027, with unsigned players becoming unattached free agents.
The NWSL calendar is staying put, as the league announced it will not shift to the previously proposed fall-to-spring schedule anytime soon.
The Board of Governors declined to vote on any significant changes this week, committing to the current spring-to-fall schedule until at least 2030.
"The National Women's Soccer League will continue to operate under its current spring-to-fall schedule through 2028, 2029, and 2030," an NWSL spokesperson told ESPN.
"This decision reflects our confidence in the strong momentum and growth the league has achieved under its current structure, and our commitment to providing stability for everyone invested in the NWSL's success."
While US men’s league MLS is shifting next season’s framework to mirror Europe’s transfer market, benefits for the NWSL’s flip appear slim — and faced significant pushback.
The players union publicly opposed the idea after ESPN reported the impending vote, saying necessary league-wide infrastructure to winterize facilities doesn’t yet exist.
"NWSL has made the right decision to provide stability and certainty over the calendar footprint for the next several years," said NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke.
"Throughout this process, Players made clear that any discussion about the calendar must prioritize Player health and safety, infrastructure, and professional standards necessary to compete at the highest level."
"The NWSLPA remains committed to working with NWSL to foster the conditions necessary for its continued growth," she added.
ESPN reported the NWSL board of governors will vote later this month on shifting the league's calendar, looking to flip the current NWSL schedule from spring-to-fall to a European-style fall-to-spring format.
The league currently kicks off in March and ends in November. The new NWSL schedule would start in late summer and conclude in late spring, aligning the league with both European competitions and the MLS, as the US men's league plans to make the transition next year.
The board narrowly voted down a similar proposal in late 2024. However, momentum appears to be building for the change among league executives.
Proponents believe the shift would improve transfer business with European clubs while also allowing the league to operate more easily around FIFA international windows. Commissioner Jessica Berman additionally noted the NWSL coverage would avoid overlapping with MLS and secure better TV slots in late spring.
The NWSL has endured two consecutive midseason breaks for international competitions. Last year, the league paused for the 2025 Euros, while this year's men's World Cup subsequently brings another monthlong pause.
However, players strongly oppose the change. The NWSLPA released a statement saying most players currently reject the calendar flip.
"The right question is not whether the league should flip the calendar, but whether the right conditions exist to do so responsibly," the union told ESPN. "Right now, they do not."
The union cited concerns about facility availability and weather-related disruptions across cold-weather markets. Critics also point to potential attendance drops during frigid conditions, with summer heat already creating issues.
The CBA gives the league discretion to make the change. However, the NWSL must provide one year's notice to the NWSLPA.
Even with approval, implementation could take years, with natural transition points including the 2028 LA Olympics and 2031 Women's World Cup.
Trinity Rodman is officially staying in the NWSL, as the USWNT star announced a deal to return to the Washington Spirit in a high-profile press conference on Thursday night.
Signed through 2028, the 23-year-old forward's new contract is reportedly worth over $2 million per year, making her the world's highest-paid women's soccer player.
"I've made the DMV my home and the Spirit my family, and I knew this was where I wanted to enter the next chapter of my career," Rodman said in a club statement.
The Rodman deal marks a major win for both the Washington Spirit and the NWSL, as USWNT standouts like former Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson and ex-Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey leave the US league to pursue opportunities overseas.
Notably, the deal utilizes the new "High Impact Player" (HIP) rule allowing clubs to exceed the NWSL salary cap for top talent. It results in more balanced terms than Washington's previous back-loaded offer, which the league rejected.
"[Trinity] represents the future of this club and the future of women's soccer," said Spirit owner Michele Kang. "This agreement reflects our belief that elite talent deserves elite commitment."
While the HIP rule is still under arbitration due to an NWSLPA grievance, Rodman's re-signing could be the light at the end of the NWSL's tunnel.
How to watch Trinity Rodman in this weekend's women's soccer lineup
Trinity Rodman will suit up for the USWNT tomorrow, facing Paraguay in the first of two January friendlies. The match kicks off at 5:30 PM ET, live on TNT.
The NWSL Players Association is speaking out, filing a grievance against the league's new "High Impact Player" rule on Monday after claiming that the mechanism violates both the CBA and US labor laws.
"Player compensation is a mandatory subject of bargaining," the union said in its Wednesday statement. "The League has no authority to unilaterally create a new pay structure that bypasses negotiated rules."
The union requested "immediate rescission of the HIP Rule, an order requiring the League to bargain in good faith over any proposed Player compensation rules prior to implementation, and to make-whole relief for any Players impacted by the League's unilateral actions."
With the future of stars like Trinity Rodman hanging in the balance, the "High Impact Player" rule allows clubs to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million so long as players qualify under specific criteria — measures that a mere 27 current NWSL athletes currently meet.
The NWSLPA instead suggested simply raising the overall salary cap by $1 million, with the NWSL going on to institute the rule despite union objections.
"We want to make sure everybody has a level playing field," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic in December. "If the league can come in here and put their thumb on the scale…they can put their thumb on the scale of any player's contract negotiation."
With free agency heating up, players making moves, and the 2026 NWSL preseason kicking off, the pressure is mounting for both sides to figure out a lasting fix.
The NWSL has made a decision, as the league officially moves forward with its new "High Impact Player" rule despite stated opposition from the players union.
Announced last week, the rule change allows clubs to exceed to the NWSL salary cap by up to $1 million to attract or retain players that meet one of eight qualifying metrics set by the league.
Those metrics include major media award rankings like the 30-player Ballon d'Or shortlist and ESPN FC's Top 50 Football Players, as well as marketing power, top USWNT minutes, and end-of-year NWSL awards.
Developed with Washington Spirit superstar — and current free agent — Trinity Rodman and her potential contract in mind, the "High Impact Player" rule will not go into effect until July 1st, 2026.
Meanwhile, the NWSLPA has spoken out against the mechanism, proposing instead to up the salary cap by $1 million without league-imposed spending regulations.
"Under federal labor law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining — not a matter of unilateral discretion," the union wrote on Wednesday.
Additionally, per The Athletic, NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke expressed concerns that the rule ties top athlete pay, in part, to player valuations in third party publications — a move that externally defines who a club can consider "high impact."
Led by six Kansas City athletes and five from Gotham FC, just 27 current NWSL players across 10 of the 16 clubs in the expanded 2026 season meet the new HIP qualifying criteria — though all teams could use the mechanism to attract a new athlete to the league.
In a growing global market, the NWSL could be falling into a trap of half-measures, as the union pushes back with league parity potentially on the line.
USWNT star Catarina Macario could be on the move, with ESPN reporting Monday that numerous interested NWSL teams may make a play for the 26-year-old Chelsea FC forward in 2026.
Macario's contract with the reigning six-time WSL champions expires on July 1st, though FIFA regulations allow her to sign with a new club as early as January, with other European clubs expected to join hopeful NWSL teams in the race.
Despite leading the USWNT with eight goals in 2025, Macario did not dress for Chelsea's recent UWCL league-phase finale against Wolfsburg last week, with the attacker starting just six of the Blues' 11 WSL matches so far this season.
Should an NWSL club make an offer, its viability could hinge on the league's current salary cap dispute, with the Board of Governors suggesting the adoption of a "High Impact Player" rule to help teams keep or attract big names.
However, the NWSL Players Association came out against the mechanism last week, pushing instead to raise the overall cap to match any potential special relief.
Though a Macario NWSL deal is mere speculation at the moment, leagues on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to grapple with the demands of retaining or drawing top talent in the increasingly competitive — and expensive — global women's game.
The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.
According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.
"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."
The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.
Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."
"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."
"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.
"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."
The Washington Spirit are one step closer to securing Trinity Rodman, with ESPN reporting late Thursday that the NWSL Board of Governors approved a new "High Impact Player" roster mechanism which will allow teams to exceed the current salary cap in order to retain stars.
Designed for use on players crucial to a team's competitive and commercial bottom line, the rule would permit clubs to spend up to $1 million over the cap with a limited hit.
The change will still need approval from the NWSL Players Association, with the union maintaining the ability to negotiate any deviations from the league's compensation structure under the current CBA.
The 11th-hour move could help the Spirit put together a more lucrative contract to re-sign USWNT forward Trinity Rodman, though the team's previous offer remains under arbitration after the league office vetoed the deal.
The new roster mechanism will likely come with individual restrictions, with sources telling ESPN that the NWSL "refined and updated" the "exact qualifications for players eligible for the new funds" prior to Thursday's board approval.
Notably, this is not the first time the league has made such a move to blur the salary cap line in order to keep star talent on its rosters.
The NWSL made similar salary cap concessions in 2020, introducing extra allocation money for certain top-line players before deciding to discontinue the rule by the end of 2026.
While the NWSL remains committed to the established salary cap, the league is also coming up with loopholes to compete in the growing global market — but only the future can tell whether the move is too little, too late to keep Rodman in DC.
The Washington Spirit are all in on forward Trinity Rodman, with club GM Nathan Minion telling reporters that the 2025 NWSL runners-up are working "pretty much daily" to re-sign the free agent despite salary cap concerns.
"I think everyone's trying to work together to get a deal in place," said Minion, acknowledging that the NWSL and the Spirit are actively working with each other to retain the 23-year-old star. "[We're] trying to figure this out and trying to get a resolution that can hopefully keep Trinity here with us for a long time."
"The reality is our current salary cap structure — it was built for a different era of women's soccer," said the DC club's recently hired president of soccer operations Haley Carter. "We're going to need mechanisms that allow NWSL clubs to compete for not only players from overseas, but our own players."
The NWSL vetoed the multi-million dollar offer from the Washington Spirit to keep Rodman last week, with the NWSLPA subsequently filing a grievance claiming the league violated the USWNT attacker's free agency rights by blocking the deal.
"These are nuanced conversations, and I would love to just toss the salary cap out the window and pay the players," said Carter. "But we also have to appreciate that, pragmatically, it isn't always payroll that's going to keep our athletes here. It's investment in other things as well."
"We are going to have to start getting creative, I believe, because it's bigger than just one team," continued Carter. "It's bigger than just one player. It's about the league's ability to keep its best players in this league as we continue to grow."