With more NWSL stars moving to the WSL or other European clubs, which offer more lucrative deals and unique competitions at a high level of competitiveness, the NWSL has introduced a new “High Impact Player Rule.”
This allows the teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to help retain star players. However, this will not help them in the January transfers, as it goes into effect on 1st July 2026.
The rule increases league-wide spending by up to $16 million in 2026 with the potential invest up to $115 million over the term of the current collective bargaining agreements.
This comes after they lost Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, and many other players in big financial deals. One of the first players who could benefit from this new rule is Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who has reportedly received lucrative offers from European clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal.
Under the rule, teams can apply for additional funding for a single player or multiple qualifying signs, provided the combined cap hit meets minimum thresholds. Eligibility will be based on a mix of on-field achievements and commercial profiles, including international honours, league awards, and national team involvement.
The High Impact Player Rule is similar to the MLS Designated Player initiative, which was introduced in 2007 to allow the Los Angeles Galaxy to sign David Beckham. Clubs in the US men’s league are now allowed to sign up to three players who are not subject to the competition’s salary cap. It was described as the “Beckham rule.
“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.”
These investments represent action to address an increasingly competitive global market for top players while expanding clubs' overall capacity to invest across their squads.
Players must meet one of the following commercial or sporting criteria to be considered a high-impact player:
- Player is on SportsPro Media Top 150 Most Marketable Athletes within the one (1) year before the current league season; or,
- Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d’Or voting in the two (2) years before the current league season; or
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of the Guardian Top 100 football players in the world in the two (2) years prior; or
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of ESPN FC Top 50 football players in the world in the two (2) years prior; or
- Top 11 minutes played for the USWNT in the prior two (2) calendar years for field players for all competition types; or
- Top one (1) minute played for USWNT in the prior two (2) calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types; or
- Player selected as NWSL MVP Finalist within the two (2) league seasons; or
- Player selected to the End of Year NWSL Best XI First Team within the previous two (2) league seasons.
The proposals have received pushback from the NWSL players' association, which said it will take action to enforce the players' rights it represents.
The players’ union says the league introduced new 2026 pay rules without properly negotiating with them. The rule allows teams to pay certain “star” players more than the salary cap, which the union believes is unfair. They argue it creates two classes of players, weakens player bargaining power, and gives the league too much control over who gets paid and how much.
The union also says the league is interfering with teams’ ability to manage their own squads and contracts. They believe pay should be based on team decisions and performance, not on league approval or media and social popularity. Overall, the union wants a fair, jointly negotiated system that protects player autonomy and competitive balance, rather than one in which the league unilaterally controls salaries.
In a statement, the union said: “Under federal labour law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining – not a matter of unilateral discretion. Fair pay is realised through fair, collectively bargained compensation systems, not arbitrary classifications.
“A league that genuinely believes in the value of its Players would not be afraid to bargain over it.
“The NWSLPA has put forward a clear, lawful alternative: raising the Team Salary Cap to compete in a global labour market.
“Additionally, we have proposed that through collective bargaining, we work together to create a system for projecting revenue sharing numbers in future years so that Teams and Players can negotiate multi-year deals with certainty. The Union remains ready and willing to engage in good-faith bargaining.”
This threshold will increase year over year at the same rate as the league's salary cap. The allotment can be applied to a single player or distributed among multiple players.
For any contract utilising this provision, the cap charge of the high-impact player must be a minimum of 12% of the base salary cap.
The league will regularly review and update the qualifying commercial and sporting criteria to ensure they remain objective, relevant and aligned with evolving global market conditions and on-field performance benchmarks.
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