By OkayGoal 
Nov 22, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman (center left) talks to the crowd while holding the championship trophy with CBS Sports commentator Lori Lindsey (right) after the NWSL championship game between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Hi everyone, it’s Dan Lauletta. Here are 11 (XI) things happening around NWSL that are on my mind ahead of the new season. Going forward, this column will appear each Monday following NWSL match weeks.
I. Berman on HIP vs Cap
Commissioner Jessica Berman held her season kickoff session with media Wednesday morning. The 40+ minute chat did not yield any major news or nuggets, but it closed on a high note when the commissioner was asked about the incoming High Impact Player (HIP) rule. She repeated past comments that the rule was put in place to “put us in the best possible position to attract and retain elite talent.”
Berman added that the league is putting policies in place to drive the behavior they want to see from the teams in terms of adding players. The follow up was about whether simply raising the cap would achieve the same objective.
“We have raised the salary cap. We have quadrupled the salary cap in the last three years,” Berman said. “If we want to, which we do, specifically attract and retain top talent, we believe that having a targeted, tailored mechanism to do that will allow for us to better achieve and more quickly achieve that objective.”
Not exactly an answer, but certainly a clear sign that player spending is likely to continue rising. And remember, only select European clubs have begun spending top dollars on their women’s team, but they are not bound by the same salary restrictions as their NWSL counterparts.
Earlier, Berman addressed the grievance filed by the Players Association over the HIP rule, which does not officially kick in until July 1. The abridged version is that, despite resolution of covered in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the issue could eventually be decided by an independent arbitrator.
II. The four key priorities
As has become her standard, Berman opened by addressing four key priorities that “are guiding the league as we go into the 2026 season, but really start this next chapter of growth.”
The four points are elite competition, global relevance, trust and credibility, and future-proofing the talent pipeline. Many elements of those four are dependent on each other or even the same, but here is one strong statement made by the Commissioner:
“The next chapter of both global football and women’s sport runs through the NWSL. We really sit at the intersection of these two forces that are going to take over and have already begun to take over culture both here in the states and globally. The through line through global football and women’s sports is the NWSL. We intend to really lean into and own that space.”
An ambitious statement. And probably true — to a certain extent.
Reading between the lines, it looks like NWSL is on a path to make the 2031 World Cup — essentially guaranteed to be held mostly in the United States — the nexus to the next explosion of women’s soccer.
III. NWSL reception
The night before her State of the League, Berman and other NWSL executives held a reception for media during which they showed off their new digs on 5th Ave in Manhattan. It was a nice way to ring in the new season by chatting with several members of the league office in a relaxed setting. To say the league is excited about this season would be a dramatic understatement.
The evening was also a reminder of how many journalists are now paid a full-time salary to write about soccer, if not specifically women’s soccer. There was a time that group could be counted on one hand, with fingers to spare. That time is long gone.
IV. Thorns coach arrives
Robert Vilahamn has finally arrived as Thorns coach … sort of. He will be on the sideline for Friday night’s league kickoff match against the Spirit at Audi Field. He just hasn’t actually been to Portland yet.
A late hire, Vilahamn had his arrival further held up by a slower-than-expected visa process. He arrived in Washington D.C. around midnight of Wednesday into Thursday after a journey that took him from Sweden to the Netherlands to Paris and finally to the United States. Despite the late arrival and some March snow in the nation’s capital, Vilahamn ran practice along side heretofore interim coach Sarah Lowdon and has begun holding individual meetings with players.
V. How they’ll finish
Here’s how I am picking the teams to finish on the table come November, from 1 all the way to 16.
1 – Gotham
2 – Current
3 – Wave
4 – Pride
5 – Reign
6 – Courage
7 – Spirit
8 – Royals
9 – Bay
10 – Thorns
11 – Racing
12 – Summit
13 – Angel City
14 – Dash
15 – Stars
16 – Legacy
Am I confident in these picks? Not in the slightest!
VI. Best XI predictions
Here are my picks for who will make the year-end Best XI.
Goalkeeper – Claudia Dickey
Defender – Trinity Armstrong, Jordyn Bugg, Tara Rudd, Emily Sonnett
Midfield/Forward – Temwa Chawinga, Racheal Kundananji, Rose Lavelle, Ludmila, Manaka Matsukubo, Jacqueline Ovalle
Am I confident in these picks? Not in the slightest!
VII. Legacy pitch
All systems appear a go for the Legacy’s opener at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The pitch, which will be natural grass this season due to the Men’s World Cup, was late to arrive for installation after a snowy winter in New England. The Revolution had to postpone their MLS home opener last weekend, but the Legacy are set to host Gotham on time. A crowd in excess of 25,000 is anticipated.
VIII. Can we get the coaches together?
The reception at NWSL headquarters got me thinking that it would be nice to have an event where all of the league’s coaches and general managers are together in the same place. This used to be the draft, but with that era gone, the main league event is the NWSL Championship.
The league hosted a combine for younger players last December, and while there were at least some media present, it was not blown out as a full-fledged event. If you consume NFL content, you were probably loving all of the interviews with club personnel during their combine earlier this month. Could NWSL turn theirs into something similar?
IX. Can someone explain the transfer market?
When the NWSL introduced allocation money ahead of the 2020 season, it was obvious some time would be needed to figure out how clubs were going to value it. Six years later, as it is being phased out — all allocation money must be spent by the end of 2026 — we are no closer to the answer.
Yes, other types of funds have crept into the equation, but I cannot believe the Stars forked over $500k for Jordyn Huitema while the Current landed Penelope Hocking for $350k. You can argue Huitema has a greater upside and could thrive next to Mallory Swanson, but this feels like the Current got a better product at a better price.
And look at it like this: is Jordyn Huitema worth half of Croix Bethune, who went for $1 million last month?
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XI. Stats Watch
Here are a few statistical notes ahead of the season:
- Jess Fishlock and Sydney Leroux enter the season with 48 career regular season goals. The next to hit the mark will be the 9th in league history. Sam Kerr leads the way with 77.
- Summit center back Kaleigh Kurtz enters the season with her consecutive games (114) and minutes (10,222) streaks alive. Both are league records. The entirely of those streaks to this point came playing for the Courage.
- Luisa Agudelo of the Wave is in line to become the second teenager ever to play in goal in the NWSL. The first was Cecilia Santiago, who was 18 when the Mexican federation allocated her to the Boston Breakers in 2013. Santiago, also the youngest keeper to appear in a World Cup, has carved out a solid career for herself. She is currently at Tigres.
- No player will reach 300 games this season, or for the foreseeable future, but the 2013 original clubs will cross that barrier as clubs late this season.
