“Overall, the problem exists, folks, because of the salary cap that is in the NWSL currently,” remarked former USWNT forward Christen Press, boldly pointing to the root cause behind major talents leaving the American women’s league. Naomi Girma’s $1.1 million move to Chelsea earlier this year already raised plenty of eyebrows, and now Alyssa Thompson has followed suit a couple of weeks ago. As concerns grow over the league’s ability to retain such big names, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has stepped in to offer her assurance.

Recently, the NWSL board meeting took place in New York, where, among many topics, Alyssa Thompson’s $1.5 million Chelsea move was also broached. Berman was questioned over the league’s ability to compete globally with its controversial ‘salary cap’, an amount that is set at $3.5 million per team.

“While I could understand the focus on the salary cap, the way that players make decisions about where to play is a complex set of considerations, and we will always look at that not in a myopic way, but holistically,” Berman said, as compiled by ESPN. “We are quite confident that the value proposition that we offer to players is compelling, and we’ll continue to attract and retain the best players.”

To be fair, the NWSL has gone the extra mile for the sake of the players. Back in 2024, the salary cap was set at approximately $2.4 million. So compared to this year’s numbers, it has only witnessed a significant rise. Yet, many have felt it’s doing no good for the league. Majorly, coming back to Tobin Heath’s point, she, alongside Christen Press, stated in their RE—INC podcast about how the salary cap affects players.

“The difference is so gross that it makes it almost not worthy of a daily discussion as to why players are going to the UK,” said Press, who, alongside Heath, has enjoyed quite a time in England playing for Manchester United, with a pay that certainly must have been without any kind of salary cap. Their argument that the WSL does not have a salary cap is both correct and incorrect at the same time.

Apparently, they have a ‘soft‘ salary cap. This means the salary cap isn’t a fixed amount but is tied to a club’s revenue, allowing teams to spend up to 40% on player salaries. Revenue from parent clubs is included, so English teams linked to bigger men’s clubs can, in theory, spend more on their squads. Then again, at the same time, critics say the salary cap system widens the gap between richer and smaller clubs.

So that must give you an answer about why NWSL maintains its stance on the salary cap, as it helps them to maintain competitive balance, ensuring that a handful of wealthy clubs don’t hoard all the top players and dominate the league. Nonetheless, this rule also appears to limit the league’s ability to attract international stars.

Meanwhile, as far as players like Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma leaving for Europe is concerned, we don’t know whether their call to leave the States was purely on a salary cap basis. But it certainly could have been one of those factors that tipped the scale in their decision making, considering when we hear from their USWNT teammates’ thoughts on the very same matter!

Alyssa Thompson isn’t the end of the NWSL-leaving trend!

“There’s a salary cap in the NWSL…And that’s an ongoing issue there that hopefully can be changed or increased, but I think it’s a factor…For players coming overseas,” said USWNT skipper Lindsey Horan while speaking to Just Women’s Sports about the factors that influence the decisions of players leaving for Europe.

This comes from a player who began her career with the WPSL’s Colorado Rush, then played for Paris Saint-Germain from 2012 to 2016, then played for Portland Thorns for over five years, then returned to France, joining Lyon on loan before making the move permanent in 2022.

And guess what? We are not saying Alyssa Thompson or Naomi Girma moved for a lucrative contract. It might be about the opportunities as well. After all, the allure of playing in Europe is something else. Like Trinity Rodman once said, “I’ve always thought about playing overseas at some point in my career…I would kick myself if I retired and hadn’t done that.” Oh, and that reminds us, guess we already know who’s going to be the next big star to leave the NWSL.

Not everyone has left solely for Europe; some players from the NWSL even moved to Saudi Arabia. Yes, the very place that throws big contracts at its players, as we have seen in the case of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and countless other names that have followed suit. Imagine the Middle Eastern giants entering the women’s territory in terms of finances!

Forget the NWSL for a while, even Europe won’t be able to compete with its riches. So one can say that money can be and cannot be a driving factor to influence a player’s decision. Sometimes, its more about the individual preferences, where one likes to play more and earn more, while another likes to do it for the glory or history associated with it.

Hearing Jessica Berman defend the salary cap, especially after seeing a player like Alyssa Thompson leave, makes one thing clear; it’s unlikely that the cap will be removed. That’s because it’s a double-edged sword factor for the league; even after working as a mere safety guard for teams, little does it also affects players’ stance about giving their 100% yet receiving peanuts for the job.

So the actual question remains: how will the NWSL tackle the challenge of competing with European clubs that can spend more freely? Either way, share your views in the comments.