The NWSL and the NWSL Players Association have reached a settlement to drop the restrictive criteria around the controversial High Impact Player (HIP) rule, allowing any player to earn the league’s highest salaries.
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player → reach → salaries
The NWSL introduced the rule late last year, allowing teams to spend an additional $1m above the salary cap to sign star players.
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teams → introduce → players
Players with the designation had to meet one of eight criteria, ranging from US national team minutes and Ballon d’Or recognition to NWSL Best XI honors to media lists, including the Guardian’s Top 100 and a ranking that ordered athletes by marketability.
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that → have → marketability
The NWSLPA opposed the mechanism and filed a grievance, arguing that the classification of players was a violation of federal labor law and the existing collective bargaining agreement.
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classification → oppose → law
About 100 players had qualified for the designation based on the criteria – a total that, at the time the rule was introduced, included the likes of Trinity Rodman and Sophia Wilson but would have excluded such players as two-time NWSL MVP Sam Kerr and US star Catarina Macario.
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rule → qualify → Kerr
Under the settlement, which was announced Friday, the eligibility criteria were eliminated.
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criteria → announce → settlement
Beginning 1 January 2027, clubs will be able to designate any player as a High Impact Player, so long as their salary equals at least 12% of the base salary cap.
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salary → begin → cap
The league can also set a limit on the number of HIP players per club.
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league → set → club
The two sides settled six grievances in total, including one over the rejection of a contract proposal between the Washington Spirit and Rodman.
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sides → settle → Spirit
Another involved the league’s footwear policy, which had dictated what brands players could wear during games.
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players → involve → games
“This settlement is certainly evidence of the NWSLPA’s strength and commitment to enforcing the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” NWSLPA director Meghann Burke told ESPN, which was the first to report news of the settlement.
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which → enforce → settlement
“Disagreements are a natural part of any mature labor relationship, particularly in a league that is growing and evolving as quickly as ours,” NWSL executive vice-president Bill Ordower said in a statement.
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Ordower → grow → statement
“What matters is how you work through them.
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you → matter → them
This agreement gives the players, clubs and league greater clarity and certainty moving forward, while protecting the integrity and competitive balance that is fundamental to the NWSL.
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that → give → NWSL
The initial version of the HIP Rule was introduced by the league last December.
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version → introduce → league
It allowed teams to spend $1m above the salary cap – for the 2026 season, set at $3.7m – to keep star players amid a wave of talent departing for Europe, where teams are not bound by salary caps.
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teams → allow → caps
The rule was ratified by the league’s board of governors and went into effect on 1 July.
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rule → ratify → July
It became known informally as the “Rodman Rule” because its introduction coincided with the Washington Spirit star’s prolonged contract saga this past offseason.
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introduction → know → saga
Rodman had received lucrative offers from teams in Europe that the Spirit could not have matched under the NWSL’s salary cap rules.
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Spirit → receive → rules
In November, before the HIP rule was introduced, the Spirit attempted to re-sign Rodman to a deal that would have averaged more than $1m annually, but NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman blocked the offer and said it violated the league’s rules because of its backloaded structure.
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it → introduce → structure
The NWSLPA filed a grievance on Rodman’s behalf, calling the refusal a “flagrant violation” of player free agency rights.
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NWSLPA → file → rights
Weeks later, the league introduced the HIP rule.
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league → introduce → rule
Rodman re-signed with the Spirit in January on a record deal worth more than $2m annually.
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Rodman → re → deal
The union grievance over the initial refusal of Rodman’s contract remained open after she signed the new contract.
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she → remain → contract
While teams are not required to disclose who is signed using the HIP mechanism, several players who would have been eligible under the criteria have since been signed or re-signed by teams in the league, including Denver’s Lindsey Heaps, Orlando’s Barbra Banda and Gotham’s Rose Lavelle.
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who → require → Heaps
The league will still have the ability to reject contracts for salary cap circumvention, but it must notify the union of the decision and provide an explanation within 72 hours.
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it → have → hours
The league will also be required to provide salary cap and revenue updates to its clubs throughout the year.
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league → require → year
The settlement also addressed the league’s footwear policy.
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settlement → address → policy
Throughout this season, some players have received warnings and fines for wearing cleats from brands that were not official sponsors.
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that → receive → brands
The league will now honor pre-existing endorsement deals for most players and withdraw previous fines.
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league → honor → fines
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