Last year, National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) game attendance rose by 26% and viewership leapt 41%. Now, players are getting a raise. The league and the NWSL Players Association reached a new collective bargaining agreement that will last until 2030. Of note, the new agreement will increase the minimum amount that players must be paid from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 by the end of the contract. The previous CBA, which was signed in 2022, set the minimum salary at $35,000. It was supposed to end in 2026, but the players and league began negotiating a new contract this summer in light of the NWSL’s recent growth.
The new deal makes several other changes that players have been advocating for. Going forward, a player cannot be traded or transferred without the player’s consent—a major point of contention following the league’s December 2023 expansion draft in which athletes like Cece Kizer were moved to new teams without their knowledge.
“We saw an opportunity to invite players to the table and reconstruct the frameworks that underpin our league, all to support our vision to be the best league in the world.,” says NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman. “We believe this incentive alignment will unlock incremental value for all.”
How much teams are permitted to spend collectively on their players’ salaries, known as a salary cap, will also change under the new deal. The base salary cap for the NWSL will nearly double over the term of the agreement, from $3.3 million in 2025 to $5.1 million in 2030, and could increase further as the league grows. The contract allows the league to raise the base salary cap “at its discretion.”
The new contract’s minimum salary increase is undoubtedly a welcome change for NWSL players, but still leaves many women making less than their counterparts in men’s leagues. By comparison, in Major League Soccer (MLS), the salary minimum for reserve players is currently $71,401 and the minimum for senior players is $89,716. The salary cap for MLS teams is nearly $5.5 million—however, a 2007 amendment (known as the Beckham Rule) allows teams to spend limitless amounts on three players. These rules were first changed to allow the Los Angeles Galaxy to recruit David Beckham, and were more recently used by Inter Miami to recruit Lionel Messi at the age of 36. His salary? Over $20 million. And then there’s endorsements.
The CBA also references the potential of revenue-sharing initiatives. If team valuations are any indication, revenue sharing could boost players’ earnings much further.
So far this year, four NWSL teams were sold for eye-catching amounts, including Angel City FC, which sold in a record-breaking deal that values the club at $250 million, making it the most valuable women’s sports team in the world.
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