Welp. It happened.
Alyssa Thompson, hometown kid, USWNT debutant at 17, who’s earned induction as the fourth espresso this season, is leaving Angel City for Chelsea. Depending on the exchange rate and the home base of the publication you’re reading, the fee is somewhere between $1.3-1.65m, and could maybe potentially rise to $2m if some unknown escalators are met.
Given that Thompson is 20-years-old, already a USWNT star, and signed a three-year contract extension earlier this year, any of the numbers above represent a massive underestimation of Thompson’s value. Some have pointed to the rise of player power in the NWSL as to why Angel City were forced to accept such a low valuation for their star talent. I very much disagree with this framing. In reality, silly clubs tend to make silly decisions, and Angel City has always been dragged backwards into silliness whenever they’ve threatened to approach seriousness.
One thing that should be pointed to, however, is the comically low NWSL salary cap. In the global landscape of women’s soccer there aren’t many teams willing to commit serious money—but there are enough. While I still think cries of “EXODUS!” and suggestions that the NWSL is a feeder club are still extreme reactions, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed. Christen Press and Tobin Heath did a good job of breaking it down on a recent episode of The RE—CAP Show.
Ahead of this season the league was so pleased to announce a ‘significant increase’ to the salary cap, to $3.5m. As Press and Heath note, the math isn’t hard to do. The league requires rosters between 22-26 players. Essentially, for a roster of 22 players you have $159k to give to each player, and $134k per player for a squad of 26. Of course not everyone gets paid the same in sports or in life. So the more money committed to players above those averages lowers the amount you have for everyone else. While it’s unquestionably good that elite talents are making $300-500k/year, it also puts a strain on the cap, which in turn affects overall squad building and what other teammates can earn at the club. (For instance, this could partially explain why Delanie Sheehan and Yazmeen Ryan left Gotham.)
The other concern is that the sport is growing, and inflexible and restrictive rules do not allow the league to adapt and compete. The player transfer fee record is smashed multiple times each window, and salaries for elite level players are climbing as well. If a well-monied club comes knocking with a high-salary offer (like Chelsea reportedly did with Alyssa), there’s nothing an NWSL club can do to compete.
To be clear, this is something owners wanted and were willing to accept, because this wasn’t just predictable, they’ve ensured it would happen—it was only a matter of when, and for which player(s). The NWSL loves the boosts of public perception that come from touting club valuations and owner investments into real estate, but such a low and hard salary cap exposes the meager slice of the pie owners (still) want players to have. Owning and operating a professional sports team is not easy or cheap, and isn’t meant to be.
Still, despite all that, it’s also important to remember that players are people and therefore make decisions for all the wide range of reasons that people make decisions. The problem isn’t so much Alyssa Thompson leaving, it’s that under the current structure there was no ability for Angel City to present a competing salary offer without having to blow up their entire squad. Thompson may still have left, but at least it would have been a fairer fight.
Onto the woso…
upcoming matches for your eyeballs
The Euro leagues are back so I’ll be dropping a lot more games in this section. It won’t be every game, just the ones I find most intriguing. I also might limit a bit of my blabbery to keep this section from becoming 900 miles long.
today, september 5
I’m not entirely in love with day one matches between teams that could eventually be title-deciders, but I didn’t make the WSL schedule so Chelsea v. Manchester City kick the league’s season off straightaway. There won’t be Naomi Girma, for reasons I am unaware of (and slightly #shook by), Alyssa Thompson just arrived so won’t be featured, and Sonia Bompastor has continued her weekly tradition of benching Catarina Macario. I am already so over Sonia.
Rahsing will be without Taylor Flint and Kayla Fischer due to yellow card accumulation, which should give you a solid idea of Louisville’s approach. Flint missing against Portland will be huge. She’s usually the sole buffer ahead of the defense and would have had a hell of a job to do against the numbers the Thorns pack in centrally. Louisville will likely need to replace her with more than one player, which will impact how threatening they’re able to be at the other end.
saturday, september 6
Listen, I share most of the same concerns about multi-club ownership though I also understand why Michele Kang believes it is necessary in the women’s game (despite it being a convenient thing for her to believe). But comma however I am also extremely intrigued by the London City Lionesses. They went hard in the summer window and assembled a squad that’s basically 30+ year old vets of European soccer, and Barcelona kids under 23. I dunno how they’ll play or how successful they can be, but I will be watching. Intently.
I’m not sure if Lara Prašnikar will be available for minutes for Utah, but she’s an intriguing talent who could help fill the Ally Sentnor-sized hole in their attack. Speaking of Sentnor, it’s been fun to see how her game is already being refined within Vlatko’s system at Kansas City.
sunday, september 7
wsl
man utd v. leicester city
7 a.m. / espn+
liverpool v. everton
7 a.m. / espn+
brighton v. aston villa
7 a.m. / espn+
nwsl
chicago tsars v. orlando pride
3 p.m. / nwsl+, paramount+
washington spirit v. seattle reign
4 p.m. / nwsl+, paramount+
gotham fc v. angel city
5 p.m. / espn, espn+
san diego wavé v. houston dash
8:30 p.m. / espn, espn+
That is a smorgasbord of NWSL’ing, and I for one appreciate it so much. There are some intriguing things to look for too. Will Ovalle make her Orlando Pride debut, and will it be enough to avoid Chicago earning their sixth consecutive draw? Can Adrián’s Washington Spirit break through Laura Harvey’s no-fun allowed Seattle Reign? What does Straus do at Angel City without Alyssa Thompson? Have Gotham rediscovered its attack? Can the Wavé find their goals again or will Houston remain extend their unbeaten streak since the break?
thing to read
2025 nwsl week 18: xG race charts & g+ passing/receiving networks
more #content you might be into
Annie, Ella & I review the Spirit's 3-2 win over Bay FC at Oracle Park which drew a record crowd of 40,019. We discuss #formations, goals (scored & conceded), and playing the villain, respectfully.
farewell fun
Oh yeah, college soccer is back.
ESPN+ has tons of matches, and you can scroll through them by day here.
