Angel City Forward Alyssa Thompson The recent move to Chelsea has spurred questions about whether the National Women’s Football League is doing enough to keep its star.
Playing in the NWSL has its advantages for many American players. It’s your chance to be close to home in a league considered one of the best in the world.
But over the years, some of the league’s big names have bolted for Europe. Australia’s Sam Kerr sets off for Chelsea in 2020, with the US team captain Lindsay Heap I went to Lyon in 2022. recently, Crystal Dun, Emily Fox And all Jenna Knieswanger has moved abroad.
Early this year, Chelsea paid a $1 million transfer fee To the San Diego waves for US national team defender Naomi Gilma.
The players who leave cite the adventures of living in a new culture and challenges of different playing styles.
Thompson’s move hit a little differently as she was still an emerging talent and was playing for her hometown team along with her sister Gisele. Alyssa had kept her with Angel City until 2028 and signed a contract at the beginning of the year. She signed a five-year contract with Chelsea. The terminology is unknown.
But her departure is to highlight the NWSL salary cap, whether it separates players from their potential for revenue.
NWSL The salary cap is $3.3 million per team. The league has also introduced revenue sharing, bringing its total to $3.5 million. The cap will increase to $5.1 million by 2030.
In contrast, the UK Women’s Super League has soft caps, allowing clubs to spend up to 40% of their revenue on players and coaches’ salaries, but that number is based on the parent club.
Angel City forward Christen Press and former national team player Tobin Heath called on the NWSL to abandon their pay caps during an episode of the podcast “The Re-Cap Show.”
“We need to change. This should be one of the hottest topics happening at the NWSL board-level salary cap,” said Heath, who played overseas with the NWSL. “These teams are closing because they know that they can compete with things like Chelsea, Barcelona, they can’t compete. They can’t compete. They lose the best players.”
Heath said that even if a team wants to sign a big deal with players, it means less money for the rest of the roster, creating an imbalance that is likely not appealing to athletes looking to improve by playing against similar talent.
Advances the Champions League semi-finals between Lyon and Arsenal in April, Heap said he wanted a new challenge to move to France, which is why others moved too.
“We’re also thinking about pay caps. There’s a pay cap in the NWSL, and I think that’s an ongoing issue. It can be changed or increased. I think this is a factor in the NWSL and it’s a factor that players come overseas.”
At the same time, there are many players moving from overseas to the NWSL. Women’s World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez has left Real Madrid to play for Gotham FC. German International Anne Catlin Berger also joined the Washington spirit this summer, Gotham and Italian Sofia Cantre.
“Player movements are a natural part of global football, highlighting the rapid growth of women’s football around the world,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman responded when asked to comment. “NWSL continues to set global standards with consistent growth, world-class talent and unparalleled competitiveness.”
There is no shortage of famous players, such as Gotham’s Rose Lavelle, Orlando’s Marta, and The Spirit’s Trinity Rodman, who now call the NWSL home.
“It was like my career choice to have this kind of experience because I wanted to challenge myself in this league,” Cantore said. “And when I first spoke to Washington Spirit, I was really happy. I had a good feeling about this club so I decided to come here and join this club and this league.
Alex Morgan, one of the former NWSL stars who retired last year, believes the league still needs a salary cap.
“You look at all the leagues here in America, and there’s a reason for the salary cap, the leagues are very successful. And obviously, the NWSL does these teams very high with so many international talent. “Can you always get everything right? No. I think pay is something the NWSL has to consider moving forward. But I think it’s fair to say that the NWSL is the most competitive league in the world and, given its talent, compete as one of the top three leagues in the world.”
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