This is a huge moment upcoming for the NWSL.
Trinity Rodman is a free agent, and she could go anywhere around the world to continue her football career, including a fledgling soccer startup competitor in the U.S.
The NWSL doesn’t want to lose one of its top players and most well-known faces.
Because of that, the NWSL is considering a massive rule change.
ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf explained in a new article late Wednesday:
“The NWSL’s Board of Governors, which consists of team owners and commissioner Jessica Berman, is in advanced discussions about implementing a new roster mechanism that would allow each team to pay star players significant salaries beyond the current salary cap, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.”
The idea here is that standout players could potentially be paid more than the cap would otherwise dictate.
“The basic framework of the new mechanism is that each team would have a set amount of money beyond the current salary cap to spend on star players who meet certain criteria, and that those funds could be used on multiple players,” Kassouf writes. “A version of the proposal is currently out for a vote with the league’s board and could be approved ahead of next week’s scheduled board meeting.”
Rodman isn’t the only player who would be impacted by this rule over time, but she’s the clear focus right now.
“The NWSL board hopes the rule would solve the saga around Rodman’s free agency — her contract expires at the end of December — and keep her with the Spirit at a salary — almost certainly above $1 million — that can compete with other offers she has from abroad,” Kassouf writes. “The rule is also meant to allow NWSL teams to compete financially in similar situations in the future.”
The U.S. international star Rodman, the daughter of NBA great Dennis Rodman, can be the face of NWSL. That is, if the league can keep her around.
