Trinity Rodman signs new deal with Washington Spirit as NWSL manages to keep USWNT superstar

American soccer's most electrifying superstar finally has a new club contract and is staying put. U.S. women's national team winger Trinity Rodman signed a three-year contract extension with the Washington Spirit, the club announced on Thursday. Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang and club president Haley Carter made the special announcement at a media event in Los Angeles on Thursday. Rodman's salary will be over $2 million annually, her agent Mike Senkowski of Upper 90 Sports Group told CBS Sports, making her the highest-paid women's soccer player in the world.

"I've made the DMV my home and the Spirit my family, and I knew this was where I wanted to enter the next chapter of my career," said Rodman in a press release. "I'm proud of what we've built since my rookie season, and I'm excited about where this club is headed. We're chasing championships and raising the standard, and I can't wait to keep doing that with my teammates and the best fans in the NWSL."     

The 23-year-old Rodman spent several weeks in contract limbo following the 2025 NWSL Championship in November. Her previous contract with the Spirit was through the 2025 season, and as the offseason kicked into full gear, attention and interest in her playing future hit warp speed. What began as standard contract negotiations eventually escalated into crisis mode for the NWSL.

Here's what to know:

An ending to unprecedented contract negotiations

Rodman's new contract brings an ongoing back-and-forth of negotiations to an end. She burst onto the pro athlete hemisphere with an impressive rookie season in 2021, where she won NWSL Rookie of the Year honors and the 2021 NWSL Championship. Her fearless efforts in taking on defenders, unselfish assists, and a signature "trin-spin" move are all things that highlight her athleticism.

Her unique style, appreciation for American chain restaurants, and endearing TikToks are just some of the other traits that take her from pro soccer player to celebrity for others. After winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her profile reached beyond the international stage and into casual tournament viewership. 

It's a win for the player who ultimately wanted to stay in the United States and play in the league that she helped carry into its next decade. For the NWSL, it means the league avoids another blow to its ability to retain star players and maintains its competitive appeal. 

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Rocky road between league and Rodman

The pathway to a new contract presented a balancing act for the league between its signature parity and the urgent need to ensure its marquee players are compensated as global transfer fees for players rise at a rapid pace. At one point in negotiations, Rodman and the Spirit did agree to a contract, a four-year deal reportedly worth a record-setting amount valued at over $1 million a year, but the deal was vetoed by NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman.  

The commissioner rejected the contract for allegedly violating the spirit of the league rules due to its backloaded structure. In response, the NWSL Players Association filed a formal grievance on Dec. 3, arguing that the veto was a "flagrant violation" of Rodman's free agency rights under the collective bargaining agreement. The added layer of legal challenges created a stalemate in the new year. 

Spotlight on the NWSL centered on the salary cap, a financial system that the league credits as the central component to its parity, as Rodman remained unsigned to any club following Berman's veto of the previous deal. Out of the discourse, the league board voted to implement a new financial mechanism known as the High-Impact Player-rule. The HIP rule allows teams to utilize extra funds beyond the salary cap for players who meet specific "star" player criteria, which raised questions about which players were considered stars to the league. 

The newly created mechanism in December offered no immediate resolution to the contract pendulum, and though it was referred to as the "Rodman Rule," Denver Summer FC indicated that Lindsey Heaps could be the first player signed with the HIP funds as the NWSLPA filed an additional grievance following its passage.  

The players' union is challenging the rule. The NWSLPA is seeking immediate rescission of the rule, claiming "a player compensation rule implemented without bargaining and in violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and federal labor law."

A lightning rod of optimism

Despite the initial roadblock in the rotating contract cycle between player, club, and the league, the finality of Rodman's contract means looking ahead. For Rodman, navigating the highs and lows of managing injuries through her career, her resume to date shows she can not only produce, but can also come back and produce some more. 

Rodman's decision to stick through negotiations with the league of her choice carries a symbolic weight for the future of the league's identity. Her staying proves crucial as she's the best example of an NWSL product and its potential -- a current star who is shaping the league and national team for the present and the future.

As she steps into the next era as a Washington Spirit player, Rodman wants to shape this next phase of her career a little differently, with an emphasis on community.

"I think my next steps with Spirit are just tapping more into community and youth," Rodman told CBS Sports during the contract announcement event. 

"I think I [already] do that through games and TikToks and all the funny stuff. But I think just being more involved moving forward, I do want to be involved with youth that are less fortunate, because I know, even just speaking from experience, I was not financially stable growing up. So it's very difficult for those [who] are naturally gifted, or even not naturally gifted, to have the ability to play sports and get to where I'm at, because again, it's a dream, and I think everyone should have that opportunity. So I think that would be my first thing, because kids are kind of everything to me, and I once was that little kid that wanted this, and now I'm here, so I want to take advantage of everything that I can do."

What's next?

Trinity Rodman is currently in the USWNT January training camp as the national team prepare for a pair of upcoming friendlies against Paraguay and Chile.