NEW YORK (February 18, 2024) – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) today announced updates to the league’s competition guidelines.
TEAM SPENDING MECHANISMS
Per the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association, the league has established a $3.3 million base salary cap to be used against a 22-26 player roster for the 2025 season, with additional monies from the league’s new revenue sharing mechanism bringing the cap to $3.5 million.
Last year, the NWSL began phasing out the use of Allocation Money, meaning teams must spend or withdraw all existing Allocation monies that have been funded and rolled over from previous years by December 31, 2026. Any remaining Allocation Money is available to be used in addition to the $3.5 million salary cap. In place of this mechanism, the NWSL established a $500,000 net Transfer Fee Threshold for the 2024 season, encompassing both intra-league trades and inter-league transfers, whereby fees paid for incoming players are offset by the value of fees received for outgoing players.
For 2025, the threshold has been raised to $550,000 and will increase 10 percent year-over-year for the duration of the current CBA term. Net fees paid by a team in excess of $550,000 this season will incur a 25 percent charge towards that team’s salary cap. The Transfer Fee Threshold will reset at the end of each calendar year and monies do not roll over.
PLAYER MOVEMENT
The 2025 season marks the first full season with free agency, granting players unprecedented choice and control over where they play when they are not under contract.
Players with contracts ending December 31, 2025, will be free agents at the conclusion of their Standard Player Agreement. Consistent with the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, free agents may begin negotiating contracts for the 2026 season on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Both the waiver wire and league trade windows have also been eliminated in 2025. Players may be traded with consent, and trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze.
Beginning in 2025, all current and future player contracts are guaranteed.
AMATEUR PLAYERS
The NWSL has introduced amateur players in accordance with the new CBA. An amateur player is a player who has not signed a Letter of Intent to enroll in college, is not already enrolled in college or has not exhausted their college eligibility. No more than three amateurs may train with a team at a given time and will not count towards the roster. Amateurs may participate in preseason matches, practice scrimmages and exhibition contests but are prohibited from participating in NWSL matches or official tournaments.
CONTRACT DESIGNATIONS
Teams may sign players to short-term contracts for two primary purposes: roster relief and salary cap exemption. Short-term contracts are guaranteed for the duration of the agreement.
For roster relief, teams may sign short-term players as injury replacements or to cover for national team absences. Roster relief contracts must have a minimum duration of one month and should generally align with the expected length of the replaced player’s absence.
Teams may also sign up to four (4) salary cap-exempt players to short-term contracts. These contracts must have a minimum duration of two months and can last until the end of the calendar year (e.g. December 31, 2025).
A maximum of four U18 players may be added to a team’s roster at a given time.
The full competition manual for the 2025 season is available here.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is the premier women’s professional soccer league in the world featuring national team players from around the globe. The clubs are Angel City FC, Bay FC, BOS Nation FC, Chicago Stars FC, Denver NWSL, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham FC, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave FC, Seattle Reign FC, Utah Royals FC, and Washington Spirit.