The NWSL Players Association has issued notice rejecting the league’s proposed High Impact Player (HIP) mechanism for the 2026 season, which would allow teams to pay stars who meet certain criteria above the salary cap.
While the mechanism was born out of ongoing negotiations for Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman to stay in the NWSL, a league source said the mechanism is “bigger than one player.”
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“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” said NWSLPA Executive Director Meghann Burke. Competitor “We don’t think (the league) has clearly thought through all practical implementations,” Thursday.
The NWSLPA expressed concern about the speed with which the NWSL developed the proposal and the lack of clarity on how it would be used, including metrics such as minutes played by the U.S. women’s national team, Ballon d’Or honors and rankings created by publications outside the U.S.
According to sources, the league’s Board of Governors voted last week to approve the HIP mechanism, which will allow teams to spend up to $1 million above the salary cap for these players. ESPN first reported the preliminary approval.
The Players Association has also been asked to weigh in because of changes involving the salary cap. Burke said this specific change would require collective consultation.
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“The league is trying to exert control over something that should be within the purview and discretion of the teams,” Burke said.
The league shared the proposal last Thursday ahead of a previously scheduled union board meeting. PA also spoke with more than 400 players around the league, who agreed that the proposed changes are not in the best interest of the league. The group used the meeting to discuss and formulate a response to the league, saying the mechanism takes away control from teams in deciding which players add value to their teams.
“This is the league asserting itself in negotiations between teams and players, and they’re imposing ill-considered standards,” Burke said. “We do not agree with the premise and we also think there is something wrong with the standards. Our position is that they cannot unilaterally adopt this as it would be outside the scope of their authority under section 8.16 of the CBA.”
That section defines the league’s salary cap through 2030 and states that “the NWSL may, at its sole discretion, reduce or eliminate salary cap charges for certain lineup categories in consultation with the NWSLPA.” However, it does not specify what consultation would have to look like.
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PA sent a message to the league recommending raising the salary cap by $1 million rather than subjectively limiting how teams can spend the money, which is what they say the HIP mechanism does.
“We think the simplest, most efficient, most logical way to do that is to increase the salary cap without compromising the driver of value in the league, which is the collective strength,” Burke said. “It’s the team’s job to do value assessments and figure out how to manage their roster. The league is not the only business operating. There are 16 separate businesses operating within the league. They are motivated to get things done.”
The coalition has not yet responded to the PA’s communication and new proposal, nor did it respond to a request for comment Competitor.
PA’s recommendation is to allow teams to spend as much or as little as they like on any given player above the minimum salary requirement and that year’s salary cap — the NWSL has no maximum salary cap in the current CBA. The 2025 salary cap is $3.5 million, which includes a $200,000 team revenue share. The minimum salary cap in 2026 is also $3.5 million.
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According to league sources, the HIP mechanism was designed to help Rodman stay in the NWSL after commissioner Jessica Berman rejected a four-year, multimillion-dollar offer reached between the Spirit and Rodman because it violated the “spirit” of the league’s rules. That rejection led the NWSLPA to file a complaint with the league on Rodman’s behalf, alleging violations of five provisions of the CBA, according to documents.
“We have world-class young talent who are interesting to watch and very marketable for the business purposes of the league and they want to stay,” Burke said. “We think there is a very clear and obvious solution, which is simply to raise the salary cap if the deal that has been negotiated is not accepted.”
Burke said the PA applauds the board’s vote to increase investment in player compensation, which is taking the league in the right direction. The two sides just didn’t agree on how to spend the money.
“Part of the frustration among some of the elected leadership involved in the recent collective bargaining agreement negotiations was that both sides agreed to a salary cap system that, at the time we reached the agreement, was only large enough to accommodate the contracts that existed at the time, but not large enough to accommodate the year-over-year increases expected,” Burke said. “That summer, transfer fee records were being broken every week or two.
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“We knew this was going to happen, and when we pointed out in the last hours of negotiations that these caps were too low, the league’s response was, ‘Well, we can increase the caps.’ They need to increase them.”
Burke said raising the cap would be a gamble for the union because the free market should and will make clear what the council should do.
The resolution of the ongoing rule changes doesn’t necessarily guarantee a deal for Rodman to stay in the league, nor does it resolve the grievances.
“We believe this proposed high-impact player rule does not resolve the grievances, even if Trinity does reach an agreement with Washington under new terms,” Burke said. “The grievances will continue. We are awaiting a response from the league.”
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Rodman’s current contract, signed in 2022 after his rookie season for $1.1 million, ends on December 31. The next European transfer window opens in January, putting more pressure on all parties to get some sort of deal done before overseas teams, who are not restricted by the salary cap, start making more aggressive offers.
The league views the HIP mechanism as a way to keep players in the league, especially after Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson left Chelsea this year. However, PA believes in favoring European players without considering talent, which includes 2024 championship MVP Barbra Banda.
“Instead of opening one door, they closed several doors,” Burke said.
It’s unclear how the two sides will proceed as the league also held its annual board of directors meeting in Miami earlier this week. Burke said a lack of consensus on how to proceed could lead to legal disputes.
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“I will say, I’m a lawyer. I’m not afraid,” Burke said. “There’s no harm in using the mechanisms that we have to clarify the rules of the road and how contracts are to be interpreted. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but we do think there needs to be clarity.
“In addition to the legal implications, strategically we do not believe this is in the best interests of the league and this needs to be communicated as we exercise the legal mechanisms available to us to enforce our collective bargaining agreement.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
U.S. Women’s National Team, Washington Spirit, NWSL, Women’s Soccer
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