NWSL Salary Cap Boost: Keeping Star Players in US Soccer
Here’s a breakdown of the criteria for the NWSL‘s “High Impact Player” rule, as outlined in the provided text:
A player qualifies as a “high Impact Player” if they meet any of the following criteria:
* Global Recognition:
* Selected in the top 40 of the Guardian top 100 players in the world in the two years prior to the current league season.
* Selected in the top 40 of ESPN FC top 50 football players in the world in the two years prior to the current league season.
* USWNT Performance:
* For field players: Top 11 in minutes played for the US Women’s national Team (USWNT) in the prior two calendar years for all competition types.
* For goalkeepers: Top one in minutes played for USWNT in the prior two calendar years for all competition types.
* NWSL Awards:
* Player selected as NWSL MVP finalist within the previous two league seasons.
* Player selected to the end of year NWSL Best XI first team within the previous two league seasons.
The rule allows teams to sign these players using salary cap space outside of the normal cap rules, enabling them to offer more lucrative contracts and possibly retain star players who might or else move to European leagues.