playJeff KassoufOct 27, 2026, 05:06 AM ETCloseJeff Kassouf covers women’s soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women’s soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsThe NWSL’s growth continues at a rapid pace in 2026, and with it come growing pains. From expansion teams and controversial new roster rules to new international competitions and increased spending in the global market, the NWSL is navigating several pivotal decisions that will shape its future.What better time than now for ESPN’s third annual NWSL GM Survey? We interviewed general managers (or the equivalent highest-ranking soccer executives) from all 16 clubs in one-on-one video calls to get their unfiltered feedback on the league’s new rules and their greatest concerns about the future of the NWSL.GMs were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive topics including the controversial “Rodman Rule” (which allows teams to exceed the salary cap for star players), how much they are spending on their rosters, rule loopholes (and cheating), their concerns with the salary cap, and more.As our previous surveys found, GMs still have significant concerns about teams paying players on the side, and there was a nearly unanimous call for charter flights as the NWSL continues to expand and add games.
And many GMs voiced concerns throughout their interviews about declining quality of games. Still, most believe the NWSL is, and should remain, the best league in the world in the coming years.- USWNT big board: 2027 World Cup roster questions – Ranked: All 49 teams that can win the Women’s World Cup – Can an American woman ever again be the world’s best player?1. The NWSL quickly pushed through the High Impact Player rule (aka the “Rodman Rule”) to retain and attract top talent. Will it work?The High Impact Player rule allows teams to spend up to $1 million outside of the salary cap (more in future years) on top players in an effort to attract global stars.
Although the NWSL added aggressive changes in its last CBA — including unrestricted free agency and revenue sharing toward the salary cap — the “Rodman Rule” is the NWSL’s attempt to financially compete with top global teams that aren’t restricted by salary caps.The rule was pushed through in December by the NWSL to keep American star forward Trinity Rodman from leaving for lucrative offers from Europe. She re-signed with the Washington Spirit in a deal worth over $2 million annually, making her the world’s highest-paid player at the time, according to ESPN’s sources.The original version of the rule — which stirred debate over its eligibility criteria for players, which included placement on media rankings — lasted less than a year. The NWSL Players Association voiced opposition to the criteria even before the rule was formally announced, and the union almost immediately filed a grievance.Last week, the NWSL and the NWSLPA announced a settlement to the grievance that removed the eligibility criteria, allowing teams to choose which players they want to pay large salaries. Even with the criteria removed, the rule remains in place as a way to pay certain players on a team’s roster more than everyone else.We spoke with general managers prior to the official rule changing.
GMs in our survey said that the HIP rule alone will not suffice “in isolation” for the NWSL to retain stars. The rule is “very much inadequate” for teams that want to compete internationally, one GM said even while voting “yes.”Several who were surveyed believe that the rule has primarily helped retain, rather than attract, world-class players, with one GM noting that it was literally called the “Rodman Rule” in a league meeting. Another general manager said the rule has only inflated contract values, which they said is “one of the biggest existential threats” to the league.A different GM said the criteria implemented earlier by the NWSL to qualify for HIP money — including players being named among a “Most Marketable Athletes” list by a trade publication — was “a really funky rule when a simple solution would have been to just increase the cap.”The league’s original criteria also created a new problem, one GM said: Players currently outside the league who made the eligibility list wanted a big payday. “We’ve had people reaching out saying, ‘Hey, I know you can offer this amount of money from the HIP, and I’m like, ‘Well, yes, but I wouldn’t want to offer it to you.'”One team was in deep negotiations with a player from Europe who would qualify for HIP, according to a GM, but “her main hesitation was, ‘Well, but then you cannot offer this to anyone else, or even close.'” The player signed elsewhere in Europe knowing that her new club could pay for other top players around her.GMs on both sides of the argument begrudged how quickly the rule was ratified in December: “It was a rushed decision to announce it in league meetings at the end of a season when people have already planned their cap for the next season.
How does that help you to retain talent?”2. What effect has the High Impact Player rule had on morale in the locker room?One reason for split opinions: Fewer than half of NWSL teams are using the rule, leaving many clubs without firsthand experience. Still, seven GMs pointed out that salary transparency caused issues even before the rule’s introduction. The NWSL Players Association regularly releases salary information internally, so players already have an idea of what each other are making.”That dynamic’s always been there.
It’s just now more serious money,” one GM said. “I could walk through a building for a few days and go, ‘What’s going on in this building?’ And then I’ll go, ‘Did they release the player salaries to each other this week?’ Because — forget the HIP — just seeing what everyone in the whole league and teammates are on, that’s a dynamic.”One GM said the rule hurts veterans who aren’t stars but are the “real culture pieces” of a team. Another said they have found that players were angry with the NWSL for creating what they considered arbitrary criteria.Still, one general manager said nothing has changed regarding team dynamics with the HIP rule: “Life isn’t fair. Nothing about the salary cap is fair.
Players that play 90 minutes can make $50,000 a year or they can make $2 million a year. Our players are professional athletes.”3. With most players on the latest USWNT roster competing in the NWSL, how will the team’s success at the 2027 World Cup affect the league’s global appeal?We wanted to know whether GMs thought success for the U.S. next year would make more players think about joining the NWSL. Some general managers pointed out that correlation goes both ways: A poor performance, like in 2023, could fuel the idea that the NWSL and the U.S. are “falling behind” and make players think twice about joining.”We know this league relies on its quote-unquote superstars to be able carry their weight on the marketing and social front,” another general manager said, with a different GM making the point that the U.S. needs star players to shine.Still, some dismissed any relationship, arguing that the NWSL has historically been a top global league and that “additional success will not move the needle much further.”One GM called America’s showing at the World Cup “irrelevant” to the league’s global appeal.
The real question, the GM said, is for the business leaders at the league office and clubs: “What does our performance in the ’27 World Cup mean for the growth of the league’s visibility and awareness here in the U.S.?”4. Do you think the U.S. will win the 2027 Women’s World Cup?U.S. coach Emma Hayes received high praise for her overhaul of the program (as she did in last year’s survey), even from those GMs who said they don’t think the Americans will lift the World Cup next year. (The team is “probably one more year away,” one GM said)
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