NWSL and Players Association agree on new player-friendly CBA

NEW YORK – The National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association have agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, extending the current contract by four years to 2030.

The agreement grants players unprecedented choice and control over where they play, significantly increases player compensation and benefits, further professionalizes the league through investment in staffing, charter flights and facilities, and allows the league to create a year-round schedule.

“Given our vision to be the best league in the world, we determined that this was the right time to align with global standards and achieve long term labor peace. This CBA gives us agency over our business and gives the players agency over their careers,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman. “Our new agreement revolutionizes the game, raises standards, and innovates the business. On behalf of our Board of Governors, I want to thank our players and their representative leadership at the NWSLPA for working together to make this possible.”

A few highlights include:

• Among the commitments made by NWSL owners in the new agreement is to align NWSL standard player agreements with FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, granting unrestricted free agency, guaranteeing all contracts, eliminating the NWSL Discovery Rule, Draft and future Expansion Drafts. All trades, intra-league or inter-league transfers will require player consent.
• The agreement significantly raises the minimum salary, sets the annual salary cap and creates incentive alignment for players and clubs by increasing the salary cap based on league revenues. To maximize the commercial benefit, players will be more accessible to the fans and media, and the NWSL has the exclusive rights to commercialize player performance data.
• The salary cap has been negotiated into the CBA with two components: (i) a base salary cap at prescribed levels, and (ii) a supplement that will be determined based on the prior year’s media and sponsorship revenue. The base salary cap for the NWSL will nearly double over the term of the agreement, from $3.3M (2025) to $5.1M (2030), with an expectation of further increases based on the revenue sharing model, further incentivizing a collective ambition to grow NWSL revenues. The NWSL maintains the unilateral ability to raise the Base Salary Cap further at its discretion.
• There is no limit for an individual player’s maximum annual salary, and the league-minimum salary will more than double over the course of the CBA, rising from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 in 2030.
• Similarly, virtually all end-of-season competition bonuses will double their current value beginning in 2027, including those awarded for the NWSL Shield and Championship winners, Best XI, Rookie of the Year, Midfielder of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and the NWSL’s Golden Boot. The NWSL’s Most Valuable Player award will quadruple.
• Parental leave and childcare benefits will be further expanded under the new agreement, and mental health services and mental health leave policies will be broadened. In addition, mandates for the number of health professionals utilized by each club will rise from six to ten, including physicians, athletic trainers, a physical therapist, a sports scientist, a licensed mental health provider, and massage therapists.
• Limited amateur player agreements are contemplated in the new CBA, and restrictions on the preseason start date and that of the NWSL Championship have been eliminated. The maximum number of games that may be played annually has increased.
• Travel policies and accommodation requirements will be adjusted to the new terms of the agreement. Charter flights are allowed for up to six legs within the league season, and additional charter flights are required in a variety of scenarios to ensure player health and safety requirements are satisfied.

NWSL Chief Sporting Director Tatjana Haenni said, “The NWSL prioritized terms to ensure that the league can attract, develop and retain the most talented players in the world. Soccer is a uniquely global game with roots in every country, and the new CBA allows us to offer the world’s most elite training and playing environment, giving players the ability to succeed at the top national and international competitions.”