It’s important we attract the best: inside the NWSL’s groundbreaking deal that abolishes the draft

arly on Thursday, the National Women’s Soccer League announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with its players’ association. Ratified almost two years ahead of schedule, it’s a landmark deal underscoring the league’s commitment to innovation and player empowerment. Key elements of the agreement include increased salary minimums and a growing salary cap, expanded healthcare options and a groundbreaking shift to a fully free agency model, making the NWSL the first US professional league to abolish the draft.

The timing of this agreement is strategic. With the CBA now extending to 2030 (the former CBA was set to expire in 2026), NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said that the goal of this preemptive return to the negotiating table was to lay a solid foundation for long term labor stability. While only in the second year of their immediate media rights deal – already historic for its 40-fold increase – she said sights are already set on the next set of contracts due in 2027. “As we begin to think about preparing for our next media deal, we now have a long horizon for owners, sponsors, and media partners to invest in women’s soccer without fear of disruption, knowing that the players are our product,” Berman told the Guardian.

Far from dehumanizing the players, the logic is simple: by investing in your product, you tacitly invest in the business.

It’s a smart move. According to Deloitte, in 2024, global revenues for elite women’s sport will surpass $1bn for the first time, reaching as high as $1.28bn – at least 300% higher than just three years earlier.

The new CBA will roll out gradually, with all restriction on player agency notably being lifted immediately.

While drafts have historically been a cornerstone of the American sporting landscape, European leagues have long embraced a system in which players have significant control over their careers, marked by free agency models and robust transfer regulations. This framework allows players to negotiate contracts, choose their teams based on preference of location and salary, and move between clubs with relative freedom, provided they adhere to established contractual requirements.