NWSL: Media Coverage of the ‘Historic’ and ‘Groundbreaking’ New Collective Bargaining Agreement

(Note: The bulk of this post was originally going to be part of a longer article analyzing the new CBA, but due to time constraints, I have not been able to do proper research for that article.)

On Thursday, August 22nd, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) released details about their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league. The new CBA, which has been described as “historic”, “groundbreaking” and “landmark” by professional journalists, has numerous significant new provisions, including several that grant the players much greater autonomy over their professional soccer careers.

Specifically, those provisions cover:

  • Full free agency for all players,
  • Player consent required for any trade,
  • Elimination of the entry draft and expansion drafts, and
  • Guaranteed contracts

Other key changes include revenue sharing for players, sizable increases in the minimum player salary, and requiring charter flights in certain situations.

At the moment, the full text of the new CBA is not yet available, so a detailed analysis is not currently possible. (According to the NWSLPA’s website, “[t]he full terms of the new CBA announced on August 22, 2024 will be shared… at a future date.”)

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