The National Women's Soccer League abolishes the draft and increases the minimum player salary to $82,500 under a new agreement.

The NWSL and its players have agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement that increases minimum salaries and abolishes the draft, making the NWSL the first professional sports league in the U.S. to provide unrestricted free agency to all players.

The NWSL Players Association has announced a new agreement that extends their current contract to 2030, allowing newcomers to choose their preferred teams and negotiate deals.

The NWSL resumed its regular season on Friday, Aug. 23, after being on hiatus for the 2024 Paris Olympics. A record 56 NWSL athletes competed in the Games, with 19 players on the U.S. women's national soccer team winning gold.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman believes that granting players more autonomy could entice international athletes to join the league. Unlike English, Spanish, and Italian soccer leagues, the NWSL utilizes a draft system.

To attract, retain, and develop the best players globally, we must remove the artificial barrier and level the playing field with the rest of the world, according to Berman, who was included in 2024's CNBC Changemakers list.

The agreement raises the minimum salary for players from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 by 2030.

In Major League Soccer (MLS), the salary minimum for reserve players is $71,401, while the minimum for senior players is $89,716, which still leaves some players earning less than their counterparts in men's leagues.

'We want them to have skin in the game'

""Our benchmark is not MLS, as the transformative provisions around free agency in this second NWSL contract show," she says."

The new CBA has increased the base salary cap for women's teams from $3.3 million in 2025 to $5.1 million in 2030. Additionally, individual players will have no salary limit within the team cap.

The league's new revenue-sharing model will provide additional funds to supplement players' salaries, which will be added to each team's salary cap.

The NWSL has experienced a 42% increase in attendance and a 95% increase in viewership from the 2023 season, while also securing a $240 million media deal in November, 40 times higher than the previous agreement.

"Berman stated that players should have a stake in the game, as they would also benefit from its growth."

The NWSL offers players other contract wins, such as guaranteed contracts, no trades without consent, a minimum 28-day offseason, and expanded parental leave and child-care benefits.

"When constructing a league specifically for women, there are unique factors to consider that differ from those for men," Berman stated. "Our league includes mothers and players who aspire to become mothers, and they prioritize both playing and motherhood."

In the corporate world, real-life conversations occur, and they should be replicated in the sports world.

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