Soccer Monday: More Trinity drama, solution may come soon

Or not.

Jeff Kassouf from ESPN has consistently been on top of the issue, reporting as of Thursday night that the NWSL’s Board of Governors has agreed to a roster mechanism that would allow teams to go above the salary cap to retain star players like Rodman.

The details are unclear, but some have likened the mechanism to be similar to the Designated Player rule in Major League Soccer.

But any proposal still has to be approved by the NWSL Players Association. It was also unclear whether the Board of Governors had actually voted on the roster mechanism.

And whether, in the end, it helps the Washington Spirit re-sign Rodman remains to be seen.

The protracted fiasco that has put so much negative attention on the league has now even drawn the attention of the U.S. Congress. Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and the House Democratic Caucus wrote Berman, urging a quick resolution to the matter.

“We believe that resolving this matter promptly and in accordance with both the CBA and federal
labor law will benefit all parties and strengthen women’s sports and women athletes’ continued
success. Given Congress’s oversight responsibilities, we request regular updates on progress
toward resolving this matter, said the letter, which you can read here.

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Here’s a timeline for how this controversy has developed in the past few weeks:

November 20: NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman gives her State of the League address ahead of the NWSL championship game and is peppered with questions about the salary cap and Rodman’s free agency. She declares: “We want Trinity in the NWSL and we will fight for her.” But at the same time defends the salary cap as a necessary business decision.  

November 22: Gotham defeats the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship. Rodman, who was recovering from a sprained MCL, entered the game as a second-half substitute. Afterward she said she felt like she wasn’t her “full self.” But she revealed little about her impending free agency.

December 3: The Spirit appoint Haley Carter as sporting director and Nathan Minion as general manager. It’s obvious the immediate task is retaining Rodman.

December 4: News breaks that the Spirit and Rodman have agreed to a contract that apparently complies with the cap, but the NWSL has rejected it because it goes against the “spirit” of the rules. The NWSLPA files a grievance that says the league violated Rodman’s free agency rights.

December 9: Carter and Minion say that talks between the team, the league and Rodman’s agent are ongoing, and there is hope for a timely solution. Carter says she disagrees with the salary cap.

December 10: Kassouf cites sources who say Board of Governors is considering mechanisms that would allow the teams to sign star players like Rodman beyond the current salary cap.

December 11: Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and House Democratic Caucus write Berman calling for a quick resolution to the matter.

December 11: Kassouf cites sources who say the Board of Governors have approved a roster mechanism to pay “High Impact Players” above the salary cap. Kassouf’s report suggests there will be rules surrounding who qualifies.

So here’s where all this stands: The Spirit still don’t have an agreement with Rodman. The NWSLPA’s grievance is still hanging out there. The NWSL still has a salary cap but now “could” have a convoluted way to circumvent it. That’s not exactly a criticism: Pro sports leagues across the spectrum have ways to get around salary caps. But also, the league could have just raised the cap.

This issue is likely to come up more often in the future, as I spoke about here with The IX’s Kathleen Gier on the IX podcast about this: What happens with players like free agent Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson (currently on a long-term deal though 2028) and Sam Coffey (currently on contract through 2027)? Or up-and-comers like Croix Bethune, Claire Hutton, Ally Sentnor? Because all could attract interest from overseas.

Oh and yes, the IX has a podcast/YouTube! Tune in! Subscribe! There’s a lot of great stuff happening as the IX expands its footprint in the women’s sports space. Hard to believe how far we’ve come since I joined the team in 2018. Proud of all the work that’s being done by such a talented group of people.

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LINKS:

The Sunday Times in London took a look at the Rodman saga from the English perspective.

All for XI spoke to Lilly Reale

Alyssa Naeher is staying with the Stars for another year

Former FIFA and NWSL exec Tatjana Haenni as head of RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga

Ella Masar parts ways with Chicago Stars

Florida State wins the NCAA title with a 1-0 victory over Stanford.

Temwa Chawinga spoke to the Guardian

Midge Purce signs on for another year with Gotham

Purce looks fierce in this spread for Women’s Health

The Guardian’s WSL summary from the weekend. Bunny Shaw!

My story on FIFPRO’s report on overload and underload in women’s soccer.

NBC story on the Kang Institute and US Soccer.