{"id":892432,"date":"2026-10-23T23:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T23:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/892432\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T23:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T23:34:09","slug":"nwsl-drops-controversial-criteria-around-rodman-rule-in-settlement-with-nwslpa-nwsl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/892432\/","title":{"rendered":"NWSL drops controversial criteria around \u2018Rodman Rule\u2019 in settlement with NWSLPA | NWSL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NWSL<\/a> and the NWSL Players Association have reached a settlement to drop the restrictive criteria around the controversial High Impact Player (HIP) rule, allowing any player to earn the league\u2019s highest salaries.<\/p>\n

The NWSL introduced<\/a> the rule late last year, allowing teams to spend an additional $1m above the salary cap to sign star players. Players with the designation had to meet one of eight criteria, ranging from US national team minutes and Ballon d\u2019Or recognition to NWSL Best XI honors to media lists, including the Guardian\u2019s Top 100<\/a> and a ranking that ordered athletes by marketability.<\/p>\n

The NWSLPA opposed the mechanism and filed a grievance, arguing that the classification of players was a violation of federal labor law and the existing collective bargaining agreement. About 100 players had qualified for the designation based on the criteria \u2013 a total that, at the time the rule was introduced, included the likes of Trinity Rodman and Sophia Wilson but would have excluded<\/a> such players as two-time NWSL MVP Sam Kerr and US star Catarina Macario.<\/p>\n

Under the settlement, which was announced Friday, the eligibility criteria were eliminated. Beginning 1 January 2027, clubs will be able to designate any player as a High Impact Player, so long as their salary equals at least 12% of the base salary cap. The league can also set a limit on the number of HIP players per club.<\/p>\n

The two sides settled six grievances in total, including one over the rejection of a contract proposal between the Washington Spirit and Rodman. Another involved the league\u2019s footwear policy, which had dictated what brands players could wear during games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis settlement is certainly evidence of the NWSLPA\u2019s strength and commitment to enforcing the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement,\u201d NWSLPA director Meghann Burke told ESPN<\/a>, which was the first to report news of the settlement.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisagreements are a natural part of any mature labor relationship, particularly in a league that is growing and evolving as quickly as ours,\u201d NWSL executive vice-president Bill Ordower said in a statement. \u201cWhat matters is how you work through them. This agreement gives the players, clubs and league greater clarity and certainty moving forward, while protecting the integrity and competitive balance that is fundamental to the NWSL.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initial version of the HIP Rule was introduced by the league last December. It allowed teams to spend $1m above the salary cap \u2013 for the 2026 season, set at $3.7m \u2013 to keep star players amid a wave of talent<\/a> departing for Europe, where teams are not bound by salary caps.<\/p>\n

The rule was ratified by the league\u2019s board of governors and went into effect on 1 July. It became known informally as the \u201cRodman Rule\u201d because its introduction coincided with the Washington Spirit star\u2019s prolonged contract saga<\/a> this past offseason.<\/p>\n

Rodman had received lucrative offers from teams in Europe that the Spirit could not have matched under the NWSL\u2019s salary cap rules. In November, before the HIP rule was introduced, the Spirit attempted<\/a> to re-sign Rodman to a deal that would have averaged more than $1m annually, but NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman blocked the offer and said it violated the league\u2019s rules because of its backloaded structure. The NWSLPA filed a grievance on Rodman\u2019s behalf, calling the refusal a \u201cflagrant violation\u201d of player free agency rights.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, the league introduced the HIP rule. Rodman re-signed<\/a> with the Spirit in January on a record deal worth more than $2m annually.<\/p>\n

The union grievance over the initial refusal of Rodman\u2019s contract remained open after she signed the new contract. While teams are not required to disclose who is signed using the HIP mechanism, several players who would have been eligible under the criteria have since been signed or re-signed by teams in the league, including Denver\u2019s Lindsey Heaps, Orlando\u2019s Barbra Banda and Gotham\u2019s Rose Lavelle.<\/p>\n

The league will still have the ability to reject contracts for salary cap circumvention, but it must notify the union of the decision and provide an explanation within 72 hours. The league will also be required to provide salary cap and revenue updates to its clubs throughout the year.<\/p>\n

The settlement also addressed the league\u2019s footwear policy. Throughout this season, some players have received warnings and fines for wearing cleats from brands that were not official sponsors. The league will now honor pre-existing endorsement deals for most players and withdraw previous fines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NWSL and the NWSL Players Association have reached a settlement to drop the restrictive criteria around the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-892432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}