Washington Spirit

The 2026 NWSL 248-match season kicks off on March 13 when 2025 season runners-up Washington Spirit host Portland Thorns FC at Audi Field.

The NWSL Players Association has filed a grievance against the league arguing that the NWSL's creation of the new "High Impact Player" mechanism violates the CBA terms.

Forward Trinity Rodman, who is out of contract with a club, will join the United States women's national team in training camp later this month for the first time since April 2025.

Futbol W's Cristina Alexander and Ali Krieger, along with Natalia Astrain, discuss Trinity Rodman's slide from 8th to 37th in ESPN FC Women's Rank.

The NWSL on Tuesday announced the creation of what has been referred to internally as the "High Impact Player" rule (HIP), which would allow teams to spend up to $1 million outside of the salary cap on star players.

The NWSLPA has expressed opposition to an NWSL proposal to create a new rule to pay star players outside of the cap, further clouding the league's next steps in competing with top European clubs for elite players such as Trinity Rodman.

The NWSL's Board of Governors is in advanced discussions about implementing a new roster mechanism that would allow each team to pay star players significant salaries beyond the current salary cap, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.

The Washington Spirit are committed to keeping free agent forward Trinity Rodman on the team despite the turbulent turn the negotiations took last week, the team's leadership said Tuesday.

The National Women's Soccer League Players Association has filed a grievance against the NWSL arguing that the league violated the CBA when it vetoed the Spirit's record-setting contract offer to star forward Trinity Rodman.

Haley Carter is the Washington Spirit's new president of soccer operations, joining from the Orlando Pride where, in a similar role, she guided that team to its first NWSL trophies last year.