NWSL announces 'High Impact Player' rule, allocating $1 million per team in 2026 for qualifying stars

The NWSL announced the "High-Impact Player" rule on Tuesday, a policy update that allows teams to spend an additional $1 million on select talent in the hopes of offering competitive salaries in an ever-evolving women's soccer landscape.

Beginning in 2026, NWSL teams will be able to exceed the league's existing salary cap by $1 million and can use those funds towards a single player's wages or for multiple players' contracts. The threshold for high-impact player will increase incrementally annually alongside the salary cap, which will stand at $3.5 million in 2026 and will rise up to $5.1 million for the 2030 season. The change will be effective as of July 1, but teams can immediately sign athletes using the high-impact player rule as long as the structure of those contracts reflects the start date of the new policy.

Teams can only utilize the salary cap exception on players who meet certain sporting or commercial criteria, and must meet just one of several different measurements defined by the league.

Criteria for NWSL's high-impact player rule

• Player is on SportsPro Media Top 150 Most Marketable Athletes within the one (1) year prior to the current league season; or,
• Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d'Or voting in the two (2) years prior to 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) minutes played for USWNT in the prior two (2) calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types; or
• Player selected as NWSL MVP Finalist within previous 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

NWSL's solution to increased competition

The NWSL is introducing the new rule after weeks of discourse around its salary cap, much of it centered around U.S. women's national team star Trinity Rodman. The forward is currently a free agent following the expiration of her multi-year deal with the Washington Spirit and has multiple suitors in the U.S. and in Europe, including the Spirit. The club attempted to re-sign Rodman earlier this month but have reportedly struggled to work around the NWSL's salary cap, the league rejecting a deal reportedly worth upwards of $1 million annually because it violated the "spirit" of the existing rules.

The new rule also comes after commissioner Jessica Berman said the league "will fight" to keep Rodman and other stars in the league, anxiety rising amongst stakeholders and onlookers that the NWSL would be unable to compete with European teams. Transfer fees, as well as salaries, have grown exponentially in the women's game recently, each of the top seven most expensive moves taking place in 2025. The Orlando Pride currently hold the record following their $1.5 million move for Lizbeth Ovalle from Tigres in August, though the other slots in the top seven are made up by European clubs.

Rodman's transfer saga comes after fellow USWNT stars Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson left the NWSL for Europe, the pair joining Chelsea within the span of a few months.

The high-impact player rule could pave the way for the Spirit to re-sign Rodman and bring an end to the saga, though no new deal has been announced at this time.

NWSLPA response to new rule

Shortly after the league's announcement, the NWSL Players Association shared a rebuke of the league's new rule, which they claim violates federal labor law.

"The NWSL Players Association opposes the League's decision to move forward without bargaining over the High Impact Player Rule. Under federal labor law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining — not a matter of unilateral discretion," the statement read in part. "Fair pay is realized through fair, collectively bargained compensation systems, not arbitrary classifications. A league that truly 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 labor 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.The League's unilateral action leaves the NWSLPA no choice but to take action to enforce the rights of the Players we represent."

NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke said the union plans to take action against the league after making the rule change.

"NWSL is on notice that the NWSLPA will be moving forward with appropriate steps to enforce the terms of the collective bargaining agreement," Burke told CBS Sports.

The union previously advocated that $1 million should simply be added to the salary cap for 2026, rather than only being accessible through the high-impact player rule.

"We appreciate the NWSL Board of Governors' willingness to increase investment in player compensation by $1 million in 2026," Burke added. "Our position is that the highest and best use of this investment is to increase the team salary cap in order to compete on a global labor market. Like this proposed rule, nothing about the NWSLPA's proposal requires teams who are not prepared to make this investment to spend any more than they already do."

Additionally, there is still one loose end for the NWSL as it pertains to the Spirit's recent contract offer to Rodman, though. The NWSL Players Association filed a grievance against the league for rejecting the Spirit's offer, which they claim was compliant with the collective bargaining agreement. The league had 14 days to respond to the grievance, which was filed on Dec. 3, but both parties have agreed to an extension because of the holiday season.