Players union says NWSL engaged in ‘flagrant’ violation of Trinity Rodman’s free agent rights
The NWSL Players Association has filed a grievance with the NWSL on behalf of Trinity Rodman, arguing the league violated at least five different sections of the current collective bargaining agreement when it vetoed a proposed four-year, multi-million dollar deal between Rodman and the Washington Spirit. The Athletic has read and reviewed the grievance filed on Dec. 3.
Rodman signed a four-year, $1.1 million contract in 2022 after her rookie season. That deal ended this year.
Since that original extension, the 23-year-old has become a face of both the Spirit and the league as a whole. She helped her team reach three NWSL finals and won a gold medal with the U.S. women’s national team at the Paris Olympics last year. The free agent has had significant offers from teams outside the U.S. and from DC Power in the USL Super League. Her contract negotiations reached commisioner Jessica Berman’s desk as the league’s current salary cap has restricted the Spirit from offering a deal competitive with those coming from teams in leagues without similar restrictions.
According to the NWSLPA’s complaint, Rodman agreed to the Spirit’s proposed terms, which would have backloaded compensation into the final two years of the deal in 2028 and 2029, when the salary cap would reach more than $4 million per team.
The NWSL’s current media rights deal is set to expire in 2027, and any new deals in 2028 may increase revenue for the league — and impact the league’s salary cap. The PA grievance states that backloading compensation is within the CBA and the NWSL’s competition rules.
The document states that the NWSL cited the “spirit” of the league’s competition rules as a reason to reject the contract offer agreed to by both the Spirit and Rodman. It also states that the NWSL accused Rodman of “salary cap circumvention.”
The grievance’s main argument on Rodman’s behalf is that by rejecting the proposed contract, the NWSL engaged in a “flagrant” violation of Rodman’s free agency rights.
“It comes down to a very simple premise,” NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic on Thursday. “If they can mess with Trinity Rodman’s free agency rights, they can mess with anyone’s. And we won’t stand for that.”
Burke stressed that she believes the proposed contract between the Spirit and Rodman falls both within the rules of the CBA and the league’s own competition and roster rules.
The grievance specifically flags section 13.6 of the CBA as one of the main sections, which covers free agency payments, timing, options and opt-outs.
“A player’s free agency rights as set forth herein supersede any other inconsistent NWSL rules, regulations, handbooks, or competition guidelines,” the CBA says.
Sources did not provide exact figures for Rodman’s proposed salary for each of the four years, though the annual average would be significantly over $1 million, and felt it was competitive with inbound offers from top European clubs. However, league sources said the NWSL would approve a $1 million per year deal immediately if that was presented.
The current NWSL salary cap limits what Michele Kang and the Washington Spirit can offer Trinity Rodman. (Eakin Howard / NWSL via Getty Images)
“Our goal is to ensure that the very best players in the world, including Trinity, continue to call this league home. We will do everything we can, utilizing every lever available within our rules to keep Trinity Rodman here,” a league spokesperson said Wednesday night.
The CBA provides specific numbers on a year-by-year basis for the base salary cap for each team. The final line of the section states that the base number “shall be increased by the team revenue share from the prior league season.”
It is unclear how to determine an exact number for 2028’s final salary cap figure above the base cap of $4.7 million, which would also include the increase from team revenue share.
“All parties can do is make a good faith estimate of what they think it’s going to be to negotiate fair market value,” Burke said.
Burke also cited a “safety valve” in the CBA in case a proposed contract did not correctly estimate those final salary cap numbers.
According to the NWSL competition manual (section III.7.c), teams are allowed one buyout of a player’s standard player agreement with the league “with no impact to their salary cap from the point of the buyout.” If the Spirit were unable to pay Rodman and meet the salary cap from 2028 moving forward, they would have a mechanism to resolve it in real time.
“As a union, we want to make sure everybody has a level playing field,” Burke said. “If the league can come in here and put their thumb on the scale — in this instance, with Trinity Rodman, who is said to be the face of the league and one of the most marketable athletes in the world — if they can do this to her, they can put their thumb on the scale of any player’s contract negotiation.”
