American soccer star Trinity Rodman just made history as the highest-paid player in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and one of the highest-paid female players in the world with an annual salary of over $2 million, including bonuses, per ESPN. She re-signed with the Washington Spirit after her previous four-year, $1.1 million contract — which made her the highest-earning player in the league for a short time — expired in 2025.
This contract comes at the height of the debate over the NWSL’s High Impact Player rule (HIP) introduced for 2026, which allows teams to spend up to $1 million over the league-established $3.5 million salary cap per club for “high impact players.” Informally dubbed the “Trinity Rodman rule,” it was created at the end of 2025 as a solution to disputes around the Spirit’s original new contract offer to Rodman — at an average salary of over $1 million annually — which the NWSL rejected, citing it “violated the spirit of the rules.”
However, the NWSL must have realized that without a little rule-bending, Rodman’s career would be taking off in Europe much like many other elite American soccer stars seeking a pay-grade equivalent to what they bring to the field. Thus, they created an exception, though not without backlash from the NWSL Players Association, who see the new rule as a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and federal labor laws.
The Players Association needs to understand that this rule, while clear favoritism and an exception meant for a few specific people, is incredibly important for the league as a whole. Ultimately, it is the only way for the NWSL to retain viewership and elevate its standing on the global stage by contracting the top talents in soccer. Rodman’s return after her MCL injury in the second half of the 2025 season saw a 22% increase in viewership compared to the first half. The 2025 NWSL Championship, featuring the Washington Spirit versus Gotham FC was the first NWSL game to exceed 1 million viewers on CBS and was the most-watched match in league history.
With the NWSL established a mere 13 years ago, clubs must still focus on building the league’s national and international profile by retaining players that drive ticket sales, media coverage and build fanbases. Otherwise, the league has no hope of building a brand worth viewers’ time in the face of established European teams that draw American players and out-compete the NWSL salaries. Rodman re-signed with the Spirit rather than switching to a European club, keeping her fanbase’s attention directed on the NWSL because the club was able to compete with the sticker prices offered by international clubs unbounded by salary caps, all thanks to the HIP rule.
Whether fans like it or not, the popularity of women’s sports hinges on the presence of the top five players in the respective league — as exhibited in basketball with stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. Subsequently, the more attention the sport receives, the more money the league has to raise the salary cap, potentially benefiting all players as they would have more leeway to negotiate their contracts.
Rodman’s high salary requirements aren’t unfounded either, as the second pick in the 2021 draft, she became the youngest player ever selected by the NWSL and went on to win the 2021 Rookie of the Year, 2021 and 2024 Best XI and an Olympic gold medal at the 2024 games, just to name a few. Unfortunately, though, the exception that allowed the Spirit to match Rodman’s demands does little to address the fundamental issue of low salaries within the NWSL, and women’s sports as a whole, which will likely lead to future tensions or disputes between players and the league over pay and contract rights.
For fans, the hope is that the NWSL and other women’s sports garner more attention and media coverage with rising stars raising the bar for what is possible within the league in order for all players to receive a salary deserved of any professional athlete.
The Spirit did well for themselves and the NWSL by keeping Rodman for the next three years. However, the new question is whether the league will be able to match a rising demand for high-paying contracts with the new HIP rule and an expected $5 million salary cap per club in 2030.