The Washington Spirit’s efforts to retain Trinity Rodman have reportedly hit a new roadblock: NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
The Spirit had a multimillion-dollar offer for Rodman that the star forward was prepared to accept, but Berman vetoed a deal that would have kept one of the NWSL’s faces in the United States, according to reports from Bloomberg and The Athletic.
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The deal will reportedly pay Rodman more than $1 million per year on average – similar to what she earns from Europe’s top clubs – but she will be paid more on a sliding scale in the second half of the deal. This coincides with the expiration of the NWSL’s media rights agreement, with the next deal theoretically bringing in more money.
Berman reportedly believed the structure of the contract violated the spirit of the league. In response, the NWSL Players Association reportedly filed a complaint on Rodman’s behalf.
League commentary from The Athletic:
“Our goal is to ensure that the best players in the world, including Trinity, continue to call this league home. We will do everything we can to keep Trinity Rodman here using every means available within our rules,” a league spokesman said Wednesday night.
While the NWSL says it wants to do everything it can to keep Rodman while abiding by the rules, it’s unclear which rules the proposed contract actually violates. “The Athletic” pointed out that as long as the team remains under the salary cap, the NWSL’s salary cap regulations do not seem to prohibit salary increases from year to year, and there is no limit on the salary of individual players.
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The salary cap will reportedly increase from $3.5 million in 2026 to $4.9 million in 2029.
Trinity Rodman seems to be worth more than the Holy Spirit has actually given her. (Photo by Erin Chang/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Erin Chang/ISI via Getty Images)
This is not encouraging news for anyone invested in Rodman continuing her NWSL tenure, with European clubs continuing to focus on her talent while not being constrained by the salary cap. The situation is becoming a referendum on the salary cap itself, as more than a few notable players, including Naomi Gilma and Alyssa Thompson, have crossed the Atlantic in search of more lucrative deals.
Rodman’s agent reportedly even met with Berman to try to figure out a solution, but we now know that at least one idea won’t pass muster with the league.
