NWSL eliminates draft, grants unrestricted free agency to players

The National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association have agreed to eliminate the draft and give free agency to all players – an unprecedented move in major professional U.S. sports. 

As part of a new collective bargaining agreement, which extends the current contract to 2030, the two sides sought to grant players more control over where they play – which could help with recruitment of athletes who can join top clubs around the world.

“Unlike a lot of other sports, we compete in a global labor market for talent,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in an interview with CNBC. “So, if we want to attract, retain and develop the best players in the world, we believe that we will be most strongly positioned if we remove that artificial barrier and put ourselves on an even playing field with the rest of the world.” 

The new CBA, announced Thursday, also raises the league minimum salary from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 by 2030. The base salary cap – or the pool of money designated for each team – goes from $3.3 million in 2025 to $5.1 million in 2030. Individual players will have no limit on pay, and the teams will have discretion over how to allocate salaries. 

The CBA also allows for the salary cap to increase in future seasons as part of the league’s revenue-sharing model in which the players could benefit from additional sponsorship and media deals. 

“We want them to have skin in the game,” Berman said. “We want them to know that they, too, will benefit from that growth.” 

NWSL’s growth is underscored by the recent surge in attendance, viewership — and team valuations.

Last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger and journalist Willow Bay took a controlling stake in Angel City FC in a deal that valued the team at $250 million, making it the world’s most valuable women’s sports team.

In November, the league inked a media deal worth $240 million over four years – 40 times higher than the prior agreement.

Berman said in light of the recent boom in women’s soccer, the NWSL opted to renegotiate its CBA with the NWSL Players Association two years early in order to give future investors and other partners more visibility into the future of the business model. 

“We actually thought it was really important to proactively engage the union and really extend the life of our labor agreement so that when we’re building the business from an ownership-investment perspective, from a sponsor-investment perspective, from media-investment perspective, there isn’t fear of labor disruption or distraction in the foreseeable future,” said Berman. “We believe this next phase of growth is going to unlock an incredible amount of investment and resources.”