NWSL expands extra spending rule as clubs fight to retain leading players
The NWSL has revised its High Impact Player rule after settling a grievance with the players’ union, which argued that the original criteria breached federal labour law. From next season, every player will qualify, giving clubs more freedom to use money above the salary cap as they try to keep leading players in the league.
The original rule offered extra spending for players who met at least one of eight measures, including rankings, national-team minutes and NWSL awards. The change removes those tests, but the wider challenge remains: NWSL clubs operate under a salary cap and compete for talent with wealthy European teams, which can spend several times more than some US sides.
In short
- Every NWSL player will qualify for extra spending from next season.
- The revision follows a labour grievance over the original eligibility tests.
- NWSL clubs still face competition from Europe’s bigger-spending teams.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Allowing every player to qualify gives clubs more room to offer competitive pay and retain talent as they face richer overseas leagues. Removing performance tests also avoids making extra compensation depend on criteria the players’ union said could breach labour law, and gives clubs greater flexibility in valuing their squads.
The case against
Expanding above-cap spending to every player could intensify salary competition and widen financial gaps between clubs with different resources. The original criteria offered a way to target extra funds at players with demonstrated impact; removing them may weaken that focus and make the cap less effective at containing costs.
Explained simply
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is the top professional women’s football league in the United States. Its clubs compete for players with teams in Europe, where some can offer much higher salaries.
The NWSL has a salary cap, which limits how much each club can spend on players. The High Impact Player rule allows clubs to spend some money above that limit to help attract or retain players.
The league and its players’ union represent different interests in negotiations over rules and working conditions. The union had challenged the original eligibility tests for extra spending, which included national-team appearances and league awards.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Rodman rule has been revised but the fight to keep stars in the NWSL goes on | Moving the Goalposts”.