Forward Ally Watt has been traded from the Orlando Pride to 2026 NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC, sources have told ESPN. The move makes Watt, a Colorado native, the first player in the team’s history.
Watt was immediately loaned back to the Orlando Pride, the club she helped win the 2024 NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship, for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Denver will play its first NWSL season next year.
In return, Orlando received $75,000 in expansion allocation money — which can be spent through the end of 2027 — and another $37,500 in transfer funds, a source told ESPN. The Pride also received salary cap relief as part of the loan agreement.
Watt played in Orlando’s first 13 games this season before missing Sunday’s match with an ankle injury. The 28-year-old has one goal and one assist on the season.
Denver Summit FC general manager Curt Johnson previously told ESPN that the team would lean into the rich pipeline of professional players with Colorado roots.
Watt grew up in Colorado Springs, where she excelled in soccer and track and field, including multiple state championships in track.
“One thing that makes us really unique is this talent pool of Colorado players, past players, it’s special,” Johnson told ESPN in May. “If you start going down the list, Colorado has been fertile ground for this sport for a long time, and we’re going to dig into that, and we’re going to hire people that have made their names as a result of their upbringing in soccer in Colorado. For sure, that’s going to be a part of our DNA.”
– When did NWSL teams begin playing? Key years to know
– NWSL’s 16th expansion team Denver Summit FC reveals name, logo
– NWSL Power Rankings: Current pick right up where they left off
Intra-league loans are new to the NWSL this year and were approved in conjunction with other roster-building mechanisms for 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC.
Boston and Denver each has access to up to $1.065 million in allocation money, which allows teams to spend outside of the salary cap and transfer threshold. The league had previously announced that it was phasing out existing allocation money by Dec. 31, 2026, but the allocation money that originates with Boston and Denver can be spent through the end of 2027.
In the case of the Watt trade, that means Orlando has an additional year to use the $75,000.
On the manager front, ESPN previously reported that Denver was finalizing terms to hire former Manchester City and New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing to be its first manager.
