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The NWSL and its players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday.
While that alone is not exactly big news, the contents of the new CBA could well lay the groundwork to change the future of American sports leagues as we know it.
There are two major points about the new CBA. First, the NWSL has abolished its player entry draft, meaning all eligible players will go straight to free agency. Second, all players must consent to trades before they can occur, essentially giving each player a no-trade clause.
“Among the commitments made by NWSL owners in the new agreement is to align NWSL standard player agreements with FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, granting unrestricted free agency, guaranteeing all contracts, eliminating the NWSL Discovery Rule, Draft and future Expansion Drafts. All trades, intra-league or inter-league transfers will require player consent,” the league stated in a press release.
Additionally, all players will now become unrestricted free agents at the completion of their contracts and the league has removed its previous maximum salary.
The new CBA is, as we understand it, the most player-friendly among major sports leagues in the United States. But it also comes with bold new initiatives that some fans aren’t sold on.
“Superteams incoming. Parity was nice while it lasted, but the @NWSL is a few short years away from being just another soccer league with the same 3 teams at the top of the table every season. Unfortunate,” one fan wrote.
Though not everyone shared their concern.
“For the people who are afraid of super teams forming, there is still a salary cap,” another fan wrote. “In other words, one team can’t just simply buy up all the best players in the league if they don’t have the unlimited funds to do so.”
Either way, the success or failure of the NWSL over the next 5-10 years could well shift the future of American sports.