By OkayGoal 
To begin the increase in player salaries, the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) announced the “High Impact Player” (HIP) rule in December 2025. The announcement sent shock through the soccer world as the rule will allow teams to spend up to $1 million, in 2026, outside the salary cap on certain players. This amount will increase with the salary cap each season.
The HIP rule will go into effect starting on July 1, 2026. However, teams can sign “High Impact Players” immediately because “the contract terms do not require the team to utilize the rule until the effective date.” All HIP contracts taking advantage of this rule must have a cap charge that is worth a minimum of 12% of the base salary cap.
According to the NWSL, a player has to meet one of the following commercial or sporting criteria, to be considered a “High Impact Player.”
- Player is on SportsPro Media Top 150 Most Marketable Athletes within the one (1) year prior to the current league season; or,
- Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d’Or voting in the two (2) years prior to the current league season; or
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of the Guardian Top 100 football players in the world in the two (2) years prior; or
- Player is selected in the Top 40 of ESPN FC Top 50 football players in the world in the two (2) years prior; or
- Top 11 minutes played for the USWNT in the prior two (2) calendar years for field players for all competition types; or
- Top one (1) minutes played for USWNT in the prior two (2) calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types; or
- Player selected as NWSL MVP Finalist within previous the two (2) league seasons; or
- Player selected to the End of Year NWSL Best XI First Team within the previous two (2) league seasons.
The league will continue to update the commercial and sporting qualifications to make sure that they align with the state of global soccer, remain objective, and reward on-field performance.
The first player to reap the benefits of the new rule was Trinity Rodman, a forward for the Washington Spirit. Earlier this year, Rodman signed a deal to return to the Spirit that is worth over $2 million per year. This deal makes her the highest paid womens player in the world. The rule is also often referred to as the “Rodman rule” as it was created with hopes of keeping her in the NWSL.
Before signing her record-breaking deal, Rodman was considering signing with a team overseas. Many other notable NWSL players have made the transition to playing professionally in Europe, as contracts have become more lucrative internationally. The league is hoping to use this rule as a way to keep high-level talent in the NWSL.
“Ensuring our teams can compete for the best players in the world is critical to the continued growth of our league,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in a press release about the HIP rule.
Despite the increase in NWSL player salaries, the NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) stands firmly against the implementation of the HIP rule. The Players Association believes that the added salary should be available to all players and the rule violates the recent collective bargaining agreement. In January, the NWSLPA filed a grievance over the HIP rule and countered with a proposal of their own. The proposal suggested that the salary cap is raised by $1 million for all teams.
Featured image via the Washington Spirit.