The history of labor-management relations in North American pro sports is fraught, to say the least. In MLS, that’s been especially true. Although there’s been one actual work stoppage, virtually every negotiation has been walked right up to that point and has generally been considered pretty contentious.
While there’s been real progress since the first CBA was signed in 2004, it has been slow and often times painful.
The newly signed NWSL CBA, by contrast, is an extreme exception.
Not only were negotiations held mostly outside of the public view, but an agreement was reached fully two years before the previous one was set to expire and includes a host of landmark wins for the players. Among them were a complete abolition of both the college and expansion drafts; full free agency; elimination of non-guaranteed contracts; increased pay; and the end of trades without player consent. The new CBA will run through the 2030 season.
“Given our vision to be the best league in the world, we determined that this was the right time to align with global standards and achieve long-term labor peace,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a release. “This CBA gives us agency over our business and gives the players agency over their careers. Our new agreement revolutionizes the game, raises standards and innovates the business. On behalf of our Board of Governors, I want to thank our players and their representative leadership at the NWSLPA for working together to make this possible.”
The wins come at a rather break-neck pace, considering the first CBA was only ratified in 2022 and there wasn’t even a recognized players’ union until 2020. During the first nine seasons, many NWSL players weren’t even guaranteed full-time wages, could have their contracts terminated with virtually no notice and had almost no control over where they played.
The new CBA sets the salary cap at $3.3 million per team in 2025, a 20% increase on the current ceiling. In the final year of the agreement, the salary cap will rise to $5.1 million. The minimum player salary will rise from $37,856 in 2024 to $48,500 in 2025 and up to $82,500 in 2030. There is also a revenue sharing clause that would further boost the salary cap, should league sponsorships and media rights deals increase during the CBA. Players will also have access to increased bonus systems, expanded family-leave benefits, improved their housing allowances that are now market-specific, will be allowed to fly charter more often, and teams are mandated to expand their medical staffs from six to 10.
While not a perfect point of comparison since a lot of spending is off-cap, the current MLS CBA started with a salary cap of $4.9 million in 2020 and only eclipsed $5.1 million in 2023. MLS players still don’t have the ability to veto trades as standard practice, there are a host of drafts that can send players to other teams against their will, and free agency remains limited based on a player’s age and experience level.
Perhaps the element most working the NWSL players’ favor is that unlike MLS, their league is considered to be one of the best in the world. In order to remain in that position — which comes with potentially limitless growth — NWSL owners apparently felt compelled to more closely align themselves with the world standards for player rights.
“The NWSL prioritized terms to ensure that the league can attract, develop and retain the most talented players in the world,” NWSL Chief Sporting Director Tatjana Haenni said in a statement. “Soccer is a uniquely global game with roots in every country, and the new CBA allows us to offer the world’s most elite training and playing environment, giving players the ability to succeed at the top national and international competitions.”
Full details of the new CBA are expected to be available soon.
