Show Them the Money: Record NWSL Media Deals Fueling Record Player Contracts

First came the big-time media money for the NWSL. Now, here come the record-setting player contracts. Not long after the league signed $240 million worth of rights contracts with four networks—the most lucrative set of media deals in women’s sports history—NWSL players are now seeing unprecedented deals of their own.

The Chicago Red Stars on Tuesday signed striker and U.S. national team star Mallory Swanson to a reported $2 million contract spanning four guaranteed years and a fifth-year option, setting a new league record. The pact, a major move for new Red Stars owner Laura Ricketts, arrives less than a month after the Houston Dash inked a $1.5 million contract with forward María Sánchez, covering three years and an option for 2027. The Red Stars did not confirm the total in the Swanson contract, but they did say the deal was the “most lucrative agreement in the history of the NWSL.” (Swanson’s husband is Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson.  That MLB team is led by Laura Ricketts’s brother Tom.)

The NWSL salary cap this season is doubling to $2.75 million, and commissioner Jessica Berman has said that funneling increased revenue to players is a key priority. The current free agency cycle is the league’s second after reaching a labor deal with the NWSL Players Association in early 2022. 

“We are really seeing the investment flow, not just into the infrastructure of the league and facilities and staffing, but also to the players, and we’re really proud of that,” Berman said prior to last week’s NWSL Draft.

The league’s upward momentum in player salaries exceeds what is happening in the WNBA, which saw its salary cap rise 3% to $1.42 million in 2023.