Trinity Rodman's free agency puts focus on the NWSL's salary cap

The will-she or won't-she drama about a possible Rodman move overseas has spurred questions about whether the league's salary cap is hindering its ability to retain its best players.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman defended the salary cap Thursday but left no doubt about her thoughts toward Rodman.

"We want Trinity in the NWSL and we will fight for her,” Berman said.

The league's salary cap is $3.5 million for each team for the 2026 season, and it will rise each year to $5.1 million in 2030. Critics say that's not enough in today's market.

Speaking at her annual address before the title game between the Spirit and Gotham FC in San Jose, California, Berman — who has been involved in the efforts to keep Rodman stateside — noted the league's salary cap has quadrupled in the last four years.

She also insisted players look at a host of things, not just compensation, when it comes to deciding where to play, including the level of competition, the coaching, and the club's facilities.

U.S. coach Emma Hayes was asked this week about Rodman's situation and the salary cap during a conference call with reporters.

"Having worked as a club coach for so many years, I definitely do not have the answer to that. What I do know is that my position regarding Trinity is the same as it is with every one of our players, and that is, what’s in the best interest for Trinity at this stage of her career and what her desires are — and if that’s to stay in the NWSL, then she’ll have my full support," Hayes said. “If it’s not to stay in the NWSL, she also has my full support.”

It's not a new debate. It came up at the start of the year when defender Naomi Girma went to Chelsea, and again midseason when Chelsea lured away young forward Alyssa Thompson from Angel City.

Chelsea paid a $1 million transfer fee to the San Diego Wave for Girma, one of the best defenders in the world. Thompson had signed a deal at the start of the year with Angel City and was playing in her hometown alongside her younger sister Gisele. But she chose to move to Chelsea for the challenge.

The English Women’s Super League has no formal salary cap but rather a “soft cap” where parent clubs are allowed to spend up to 80% of revenues on player salaries with a limited owner contribution. The WSL also introduced minimum salary requirements in September.

There is the ability for the NWSL and its players' association to revisit the salary cap at any time. Berman insisted, however, that team investment “has to have a rational relationship to revenue.”

“When we go through that process of reviewing the overall ecosystem and the value proposition that we’re offering to top talent and to our players, and we’re looking at the amount being invested in training facilities, in stadiums, in compensation for players, we have to look at it in the context of where our business is at," Berman said. "And of course, we’ve made incredible strides in a very short period of time to drive commercial growth both at the league level and our clubs. But that is the lens that we consistently look at it through."

Alex Morgan, one of the NWSL’s original stars who retired last year, believes the league still needs a salary cap.

“You look at all of the leagues here in the U.S. and the salary cap is here for a reason, the leagues are incredibly successful. And obviously the NWSL is doing something right with the valuation of these teams becoming really high with so much international talent, top talent signing in the U.S., signing in the NWSL in the last couple of years,” Morgan told The Associated Press in September. “Can you get every single thing right all the time? No. So I think the salary is something NWSL has to look at moving forward. But I think it’s fair to say the NWSL is the most competitive league in the world, and it competes as one of the top three leagues overall in the world when you think of talent.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer