NWSL teams can exceed cap by $1M for 'high-impact players'

The NWSL introduced a new "High Impact Player Rule" on Tuesday that allows teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to help attract and retain star players.

The rule goes into effect on July 1, 2026.

"Ensuring our teams can compete for the best players in the world is critical to the continued growth of our league," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said. "The High Impact Player Rule allows teams to invest strategically 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 spending by up to $16 million in 2026 and up to $115 million over the term of the current collective bargaining agreement.

"These investments represent intentional, deliberate action to address an increasingly competitive global market for top players, while expanding clubs' overall capacity to invest across their rosters," the NWSL said in a news release.

Players must meet at least one of the following sporting or commercial criteria in order to meet the definition of a "high-impact player":

--Player is on SportsPro Media's Top 150 most marketable athletes within one year prior to the current league season.

--Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d'Or voting in the two years prior to the current league season.

--Player is selected in the Top 40 of the Guardian Top 100 football players in the world in the two years prior.

--Player is selected in the Top 40 of ESPN FC Top 50 football players in the world in the two years prior.

--Player is in the Top 11 in minutes played for the U.S. Women's National team in the prior two calendar years for field players for all competition types.

--Player ranks first in minutes played for USWNT in the prior two calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types.

--Player selected as NWSL MVP finalist within the previous two league seasons.

--Player selected to the end-of-year NWSL Best XI first team within the previous two league seasons.

The $1 million threshold will increase year-over-year at the same base rate as the league's salary cap. The additional allotment can be applied to a single player or distributed among multiple players. The cap charge of the high-impact player(s) must be a minimum of 12% of the base salary cap.

The NWSL salary cap in 2025 was $3.5 million following adjustments for revenue sharing.

One of the first players who could potentially benefit from the new rule is Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who reportedly has received lucrative offers from teams in Europe.

--Field Level Media