Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images
An ESPN report from Jeff Kassouf late Wednesday night indicates that the NWSL Board of Governors is attempting to finalize and vote on a roster mechanism that will allow Trinity Rodman and other stars to play for clubs at salaries that will exceed the current salary cap. Rodman’s contract with the Washington Spirit expires at the end of the month and without a method to significant raised her salary, it is feared the 23-year old will sign in Europe.
Jeff Kassouf is the founder and owner of Equalizer.
The NWSL has long been publicly opposed to any version of what Major League Soccer calls the Designated Player Rule. Originally passed to allow the LA Galaxy to sign David Beckham in 2006, the rule has evolved over the years and helped boost the league’s talent level across the board.
As women’s leagues across Europe and elsewhere have continued to invest in player salaries, the pressure has been ramped up on NWSL to respond or risk losing many of its stars. Presently, Lindsay Heaps, Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson among others are currently playing in Europe.
According to the ESPN report, the working idea is for clubs to have access to spending money above and beyond the salary cap on players who meet certain undisclosed criteria. The money would not be limited to one player.
Rodman and the Spirit recently came to an agreement on a multi-year contract that was contingent on the speculation that the salary cap would increase over the course of the deal. The league rejected the terms of the contract after which the NWSL Players Association filed a grievance against the league. The grievance has yet to be heard.
