The National Women's Soccer League announced it was introducing a rule to allow teams to circumvent the league's salary cap, despite the players union's having rejected the NWSL's proposal last week.
The NWSL said in a press news release Tuesday that it would go forward with its "high-impact player" rule and that the rule would go into effect in July. Clubs will be able to pay up to $1 million to players outside the NWSL's salary cap in the hope of retaining big-name talent.
Soccer fans may know it as the “Beckham rule,” as Major League Soccer introduced its own designated player rule in 2007 as a way to attract superstar David Beckham.
The NWSL version is a similar mechanism available to players who meet specific criteria, such as being in the top 30 in voting for the Ballon d’Or, the top individual award in world soccer, or being selected as NWSL MVP finalists in the previous two seasons. Teams would be allowed to sign such players immediately so long as the contract terms do not require the teams to use the rule until the date it takes effect, the NWSL said.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman called the high-impact player rule "critical to the continued growth of our league."
"The High Impact Player Rule allows teams to invest strategically in top talent, strengthens our ability to retain star players, and demonstrates our commitment to building world-class rosters for fans across the league," Berman said in a statement Tuesday.
The NWSL Players Association rejected a proposal for the rule last week.
NWSLPA Executive Director Meghann Burke told ESPN at the time that implementation would require collective bargaining and suggested that the league increase its salary cap, instead. The NWSL is set to raise its salary cap for the 2026 season to $3.5 million.
The union described the NWSL’s move as a "unilateral" decision and said it would have "no choice but to take action" following the league's announcement Tuesday.
"Fair pay is realized through fair, collectively bargained compensation systems, not arbitrary classifications," the NWSLPA said. "A league that truly believes in the value of its Players would not be afraid to bargain over it."
Though the U.S. is home to some of the best female soccer players in the world, the NWSL has struggled to retain high-profile talent in recent years as it competes in a global market. European leagues are particularly enticing to players because of the lack of a salary cap, as well as regional tournaments.
U.S. women's national soccer team stars Naomi Girma, Alyssa Thompson and Jenna Nighswonger have all departed the NWSL for England's Women's Super League in the last year.
Concerns have turned to whether the league will be able to keep the Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman, one of the most marketable women in soccer, in the off-season.
Rodman is a free agent and has been in negotiations to stay with the Spirit, with whom she has spent her entire professional career. But the league rejected a backloaded deal that it said violated the "spirit" of its rules even though it did not violate the salary cap.
Rodman's agent, Mike Senkowski, told CBS News on Dec. 5 that she would have greater value with clubs in other leagues than the deal she was going to agree to with the Spirit.
"With no certain way to get her fair market value within the NWSL, naturally that forces and encourages you to look elsewhere," Senkowski said.
The NWSL argues that the salary cap has allowed the league, which is still expanding with new teams, to maintain parity among the clubs.
The competitive environment in the NWSL is a “very compelling” proposition to keep talent, Berman told The Athletic this year.
"They care about compensation, but they also care about the competition, who they’re playing with and who they’re playing against and what the quality of that competition is," Berman said.
