United States forward Trinity Rodman signed a record three-year contract Thursday with the Washington Spirit to remain with the club through 2028, ending months-long uncertainty over the star’s future.
The deal Rodman signed Thursday is worth over $2 million annually all-in, including bonuses, multiple sources told ESPN, making her the highest-paid player in league history, and the highest-paid female player in the world, according to her agent Mike Senkowski of Upper 90 Sports Group.
Barcelona‘s three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí was previously reported to be the world’s highest-paid women’s player.
Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson recently became the first player in the NWSL with a $1 million annual contract when she exercised her player option for 2026.
Rodman, Spirit owner Michele Kang and Spirit president of soccer operations Haley Carter made the announcement Thursday at BMO Field in Los Angeles, near where Rodman is training with the USWNT.
“It feels amazing, I’m very happy, I’m very blessed,” Rodman said after signing her contract. “I think it’s a monumental and game-changing moment right now. I can’t even describe in words what it feels like. Obviously, everyone’s going to have their different thoughts and opinions about it, but I’ve never really cared. So, that doesn’t change anything for me.
“I’ve always had a vision of kind of an idea of what I want my legacy to be and continue to be. For me, we’re doing that, with help obviously, and I’m so grateful for that. But yeah, I think this is just opening up opportunities for American girls with dreams, and I’m one and was one of them, and so I’m very grateful about that.
“And it’s perfect timing with the World Cup happening in the U.S., too.”
Arguably the NWSL’s biggest star, Rodman’s future has been the source of public speculation for months. She hasn’t had a contract since her previous deal expired Dec. 31, amid a chaotic series of events for the NWSL that developed in reaction to Rodman’s future.
“Not only me personally but all of us at the Spirit are profoundly grateful that she has chosen to stay with us for another three years despite some very compelling alternatives she had,” Kang said at the event Thursday.
Sources previously told ESPN that Rodman had offers abroad, especially in England, that the Spirit could not match under the constraints of the NWSL’s salary cap. The salary cap was $3.5 million per team in 2025.
Washington and Rodman reached a creative agreement in late November to backload a four-year contract that annualized to over $1 million per year, but commissioner Jessica Berman rejected the deal because it violated the “spirit” of the rules. The league also accused Rodman of preemptive salary cap circumvention.
That led the NWSLPA to file a grievance against the league on Rodman’s behalf. The union called the NWSL’s intervention on a legal contract offer a “flagrant violation” of the player’s free agency and a violation of at least five sections of the CBA.
In December, the NWSL’s board of governors approved the creation of a new High Impact Player rule to allow teams to spend up to $1 million over the salary cap on star players who meet certain criteria. The rule had been discussed in some manner for months but was, according to sources across the league, pushed forward due to the urgent nature of Rodman’s future.
“Trin’s contract has benefited from the implementation of the HIP rule,” Carter said.
Losing Rodman to Europe would have been the largest blow yet to the NWSL after the departures of fellow USWNT stars Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma to Chelsea last year. The Portland Thorns’ transfer of midfielder Sam Coffey to Manchester City was also confirmed last week.
“Trinity is an inspiration to young girls across America. She is a player they can relate to, and those young fans matter more than anything to her,” Senkowski said in a statement Thursday. “The decision to continue to play here represents a very clear vision for the future of women’s soccer. She set a new standard for the sport and will ultimately drive the continued growth and success of the league and its players. I’m so proud of her.”
Rodman began her career at Washington, and the NWSL, as a 19-year-old out of high school. She was a top prospect who had committed to Washington State University, but she pivoted to turn pro and was drafted second by the Spirit in the 2021 NWSL draft.
Later that year, as a rookie, she helped lead the team to its first NWSL championship. Rodman scored in the semifinal and assisted on the winning goal in extra time of the final that year.
Soon after the title, she received a four-year deal worth $1.1 million, making her the league’s highest-paid player at the time. That deal, which has since been eclipsed several times as the most lucrative in the league, expired at the end of 2025 and left Rodman unattached to a club, as she was listed by U.S. Soccer in her return to training camp with the USWNT this month.
The High Impact Player rule remains in flux. The NWSLPA opposes the league’s right to create the rule and the premise of criteria-driven qualification. The union filed a grievance against the league Jan. 14 over the creation of the rule.
Teams are attempting to navigate the uncertainty. Expansion team Denver Summit FC recently signed USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps to a pre-contract for this summer, and general manager Curt Johnson said that Heaps qualifies by criteria and salary to be a HIP player, but it is unclear yet whether she will be.
Either way, that is a bookkeeping conundrum for the club, and her contract with Denver will not change. The same would be the case for Rodman and the Spirit.
“The reality is a contract is a contract,” Carter added. “Regardless of the outcome of that grievance, we’ve entered into a legally binding contract with Trinity, and we anticipate fulfilling our obligations under that contract.”
