NVSL On Tuesday introduced a new “Power Player Rule” that allows teams to go over the salary cap by up to $1 million to help attract and retain star players. The rule will take effect on July 1, 2026.
One of the first players who could potentially benefit from the new rule is Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who is reportedly received lucrative offers from European teams.
“Ensuring our teams can compete for the best players in the world is critical to the continued growth of our league,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman. “The High Performance Player Rule allows teams to strategically invest in top talent, strengthens our ability to retain star players and demonstrates our commitment to building world-class rosters for fans across the league.”
The rule increases league-wide costs to $16 million in 2026 and $115 million over the life of the current collective bargaining agreement.
“This investment represents targeted, focused action to address the increasingly competitive global market for top players while enhancing the overall ability of clubs to invest in their squads,” the NWSL said in a press release.
However, the proposal was rebuffed by the NWSL Players' Association, which said it would take action “to ensure the rights of the players we represent are respected.”
The union said in a statement: “Under federal labor law, changes in compensation within the salary cap are subject to mandatory negotiation and not a matter of unilateral discretion. Fair pay is achieved through fair, collectively agreed upon compensation systems, not arbitrary classifications.”
“A league that truly believes in the value of its players will not be afraid to bargain on this issue.
“The NWSLPA has put forward a clear and legal alternative: raising the team salary cap so they can compete in the global labor market.
“In addition, we have offered to work together through collective bargaining to create a revenue-sharing forecast system for future years so that teams and players can confidently enter into multi-year agreements. The Union remains ready and willing to engage in good faith negotiations.”
Under the league's new proposal, players must meet at least one of the following athletic or business criteria to meet the definition of a “high-performing player”:
– Player selected in Top 40 The Guardian ranks the world's 100 best footballers two years before that.
– The player is included in the list of 150 most sought-after athletes according to SportsPro Media a year before the start of the current league season.
– A player is selected among the top 30 in Ballon d'Or voting two years prior to the current league season.
– The player was selected as one of the top 40 football players in the world by ESPN FC two years earlier.
– The player is ranked in the top 11 in minutes played for the US Women's National Team over the previous two calendar years among outfield players in all types of competition.
– The player ranks first in minutes played for the USWNT over the previous two calendar years among goalies in all types of competition.
– Player selected as NWSL MVP finalist for two previous league seasons.
– Player selected to the year-end NWSL Best XI first team for the previous two league seasons.
The $1 million threshold would increase year over year at the same base rate as the league's salary cap. Additional distribution can be applied to one player or distributed among multiple players. The salary cap for high-performing players must be at least 12% of the base salary cap.
The NWSL salary cap in 2025 was $3.5 million, subject to revenue sharing adjustments.
