The NWSL reportedly rejected the Washington Spirit’s multimillion-dollar contract offer to star Trinity Rodman as a back-and-forth between the league and the club over the player’s future continues.
The Spirit reportedly offered Rodman a four-year deal worth more than $1 million annually, with commissioner Jessica Berman rejecting the proposal because it was against the spirit of the rules, according to Bloomberg. The NWSL Players Association has since filed a grievance against the league on the grounds that the Spirit’s offer is compliant with the collective bargaining agreement that the league and the players struck last year, which runs through the 2030 season.
“Our goal is to ensure that the very best players in the world, including Trinity, continue to call this league home,” the NWSL said in a statement to CBS Sports. “We will continue to do everything we can, utilizing every lever available within our rules to keep Trinity Rodman here.”
Rodman’s previous deal with the Spirit expired at the conclusion of the 2025 NWSL season, making her a free agent. The 23-year-old has been with the Spirit since her rookie season in 2021 and the Washington, D.C.-based club has intended to re-sign her all year but there have previously been concerns that they would be unable to because of the NWSL’s salary cap. The cap sits at $3.1 million for the 2026 season and will rise up to $5.1 million for the 2030 season. There is an article in the CBA that allows the NWSL to raise the salary cap outside of the scheduled increases but there is currently no indication the league plans to do so.
The Spirit declined to comment.
The NWSLPA, though, said the Spirit’s offer actually complies with the CBA as it currently exists.
“Trinity Rodman agreed to a compensation structure in good faith that would allow her to remain loyal to her first professional club, consistent with both the CBA and NWSL Competition Rules,” the NWSLPA said in a statement to CBS Sports. “The NWSLPA has challenged the League’s rejection of this agreement on the grounds that it violates her free agency rights, but this isn’t about Trinity Rodman. If NWSL can deny her free agency rights, they can deny anyone’s. The NWSLPA will not allow it.”
Further, the NWSLPA claims the Spirit’s offer is compliant for three reasons – “Compensation structure fits within the projected team salary cap, which is calculated to include the team revenue share; under the CBA, NWSL can and may increase the base salary cap in any given year; and even if, despite both of the above scenarios, the deal does not fit within the cap by 2028, the League’s own rules permit each team one buyout per year without hitting their cap.”
Ahead of last month’s NWSL Championship, Berman said the league would “fight” to keep Rodman, believing the NWSL offers the best overall package for star players.
“Specifically, as it relates to Trinity and candidly, any other top player in the world, we want those top players here in the NWSL and particularly, we want Trinity in the NWSL and we will fight for her,” Berman said at the time.
“We really believe that there is a holistic picture that players evaluate and the reason we believe this is because we hear it from players in our league and around the world,” she continued. “I go and sit with the players on every single team in the NWSL every season and they tell me that yes, compensation matters but they also think about compensation not just from the perspective of what their club is paying them … We also know that our market here in the U.S. has more interest in supporting female athletes and women sports than any other market in the world and then there’s all the other components outside of compensation, which I referenced earlier, the other three Css, which is the competition, the club and the coaching and we believe on a holistic basis If you’re a player who wants to be performing at your best and wants to be valued and supported and feel like you have the opportunity to train in a best-in-class environment with the best-in-class league, that the NWSL is the place for you.”
For her part, Rodman said she was flattered by Berman’s remarks but had not made a decision on her future before the championship, during which the Spirit lost to Gotham FC.
“I’m honored to have her say that,” Rodman said. “Really happy about that, but at the same time, like, I don’t want to put that pressure on myself, of like, because she said that now I’m like, ‘Oh shoot. Like, I’m trapped.’ But at the same time, I’m focused on this weekend, and that’s really all I can focus on, and then moving forward, that’s when I really have those conversations and tough calls that I need to have,”
In addition to the Spirit’s attempts to re-sign her, Rodman reportedly has interest from three clubs in England’s Women’s Super League and the USL Super League’s D.C. Power.
