#nwslpa

[melodiousoblivionao3]

LMFAO this quote from Meghann Burke (PA Director)

“The town and the players who will represent them deserve so much more,” Burke continued. “With the work that has gone into laying a strong foundation for Boston’s 2026 launch, I honestly did not perceive this team to be so unserious. I’m holding out hope that this is an elaborate and ingenious joke and that the real team name and campaign telling us what they’re really about will be rolled out soon.”

[emotionalsupportsoccerball]

Happy start of free agency day to all who celebrate!!! If you’re looking for rules and clarity, the league makes this a bit complicated! So I’ll attach the CBA below, but here’s the gist in bullet points!

Restricted Free Agents:

- This is new this year

- These are any players who are out of contract at the end of the season AND have played in NWSL for at least 3 seasons

- Restricted free agents can now start talking to new teams for deals for next season HOWEVER if their current team matches the deals they receive from other teams, that club retains the player

Unrestricted Free Agents:

- This one is much easier, these are any players who are out of contract at the end of the season AND have played in the league for at least 5 seasons!

Happy Free Agency to all and to all a good night!

[thefirsthogokage]

WOW! The Sports World is starting to step up and standing with the WGA!

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[colorfulraven]

what does it MEAN

[justbackgroundnoise]

The NWSL’s new CBA finally did what I’ve wanted this league to do for years and it’s about damn time. No draft, no expansion draft, no trades without consent, AND free agency when a contract is up regardless of tenure in the league. A lot of these new things are standard in most other elite women’s professional leagues and it’s sad that it’s taken the NWSL so long to get to this point but amazing to see some of these standard practices finally being put in place! Proud of the athletes for working so hard to make this happen because it’s what they deserve.

It’s worth it to read a bit more about it if you’re interested!

[hyperfixationsstation]

Whether they have a draft or not, it’s a lose-lose situation in my eyes. Somebody isn’t going to be happy regardless. If they don’t get their team of choice, there will be people upset. And I don’t have an issue with high draft picks going to the worst teams to help balance it out. Yes, the team may be bad, but newer players have a better chance of making an impact on that team vs a team that is well established. There are still ways to be impactful even when you feel like you’re not. To be real, most of the players that have dreams of playing professionally, won’t get the opportunity. At least with the draft, you can say “I got drafted _ overall”.

Now, when a team is hot ass, it’s going to look bad and people are going to want to jump ship. Players still have to perform and if their trade value is horrible, then it’s on them. Plus, every other successful US league has a draft. NBA, NFL, WNBA, MLB all have drafts. Not everyone is going to play. Unfortunately that’s the reality of all sports teams.

the whole point is players having autonomy over their careers. which something other leagues have all over the world thats where the nwsl was falling behind. no not everyone will be a pro and it was like that with the draft. just like players not going to their preferred team when their was a draft??? atleast now players can talk to organizations coaches and see what is out their for them their chances of playing time and finding the system that fits them the best. also the draft isnt some trophy or consolation prize… players would absolutely go to lower teams especially in this league players want to play and its up to the clubs to show them why those players should player. it raises standards bc they cant be forced to play for a club doing the bare minimum anymore. and players would play for lower teams for many reasons like being close to home or maybe moving bc of a significant other or for more playing time they wont get at other teams and the best part is that the players that are at every club chose that one that was their choice and where they want to start, spend, or retire with

also and so what that other leagues have drafts you think those players wouldn’t prefer the opportunity to decide where they wanted to play?? or to not be traded overnight on a random Wednesday just bc everyone does it doesnt make it right… theres a reason all of these other leagues player associations where applauding the nwslpa today…

[trustherkindheart]

They DOUBLED Soph's suspension??

Update: The NWSLPA fought Soph's suspension back down to one game (which was served this past weekend). Yay for players unions!

[gamergirl929]

I see the NWSLPA stepped in to get Sophia Smith's second game ban and extra fine reduced, good on them, unfortunate that the other stuff stands though.

[melodiousoblivionao3]

Stuck between Merritt often being a shit stirrer just for the hell of it and the Merritt that was a deeply important part of the NWSLPA and both rounds of CBA negotiations…

[22plus15]

yey about the draft thing! (I never understood it anyway and I don’t watch nwsl but it looks like fans are happy about it 👍😅)

very yay!!! i've been reading about the cba all day so i'll explain a bit if anyone's curious ⬇️

the draft is a very american sports thing -- when players decide to go pro out of high school or college (which are very established here rather than academies and reserve teams), they make themselves available for the draft and the worst performing teams in the pro league each season will get the first draft picks so they essentially get the best new players, which is supposed to maintain parity btwn teams and avoid the teams with the most money or pull hoarding all the best rookies

it was integrated into the nwsl pretty much by default -- but as it turns out doesn't work as smoothly for how global of a sport soccer is (clubs have a way bigger pool of overseas players to buy from than other american sports so they don't rely on the draft for new talent) and also takes a lot of agency away from young players. lots of reasons and lots of debate on both sides of it. that's the college draft but what's also been eliminated is the expansion draft, which was when a new team was created they got their free pick of available players (not limited to just rookies) to give them a fair shot, but at the expense of the players who suddenly got traded and had to uproot their lives (among other potential dangers in a post-roe v wade world and with the history of bad actors in women's sports). it sounds good for new teams in theory but in practice it never really works out anyway (just look at utah royals' place on the table lol)

anyway the elimination of the draft is just one part of the cba that was announced today and i really recommend looking into it if this kind of thing interests you! the nwslpa (players' union) secured lots of player protections, much higher salary caps and minimums, guaranteed contracts (i.e. if you get injured or smth, which we know happens a lot in woso these days, you'll still get paid your full salary no matter what), extra bonuses for end of season awards, charter flights (the usa is huge you gotta fly), players' consent is FINALLY required for trades, free agency for all, parental leave and childcare, mental health services, etc etc

and a lot of the same workplace protections will also apply to front office staff and everyone who works behind the scenes at clubs and within the league so it's genuinely a huge step in the right direction for making women's sports leagues truly professional and safe working environments, and also not being afraid to diverge from the model of major men's leagues 👌

of course there's always progress to be made and the elimination of the draft will def come with a learning curve, but this has all been a long time coming and a lot of past nwsl players suffered and were put in a lot of precarious positions that future players will hopefully never even dream of happening to them now 👍

and last thing i promise: i remember answering an ask about kc current having lucy's discovery rights, meaning if she wanted to go to the nwsl she'd have to sign with them or they'd make bank if another team wanted her. that's been eliminated as well so i believe she's a free bird if she ever comes here!

[uswnt5]

The NWSLPA thing might be about this

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/soccer/2024/nwsl-new-cba-nwslpa-union-1234792820/

Oh ok, this seems good.

[offsidenewsco]

"...The new NWSL contract may represent a shift in the power dynamic between leagues and their players. If athletes in other professional sports leagues begin to take cues from the example the NWSLPA has set, they may begin to feel more empowered to push harder against team owners in CBA negotiations."

🗞️ Read our op-ed on labour unions in professional sports here.

[falsamoneda]

The nwslpa tweeted that it’s free agency day. Drop your predictions in the messages because I have thoughts and neeeeed to discuss 👀

[the-physicality]

Congrats to the NWSLPA on a massive cba. And shout out for posting it before I woke up

[hyperfixationsstation]

I’m confused about this draft thing and when I say this I don’t want any problems because I’m genuinely confused.

So players are really saying we don’t want a draft because we don’t want to or have control over destinations? I get not having control, but players are willing to throw away a day where they get to be celebrated with their name being called. Like hearing your name called should be celebrated and it should feel like a moment where you’ve made it. Idk, in my eyes that’s a once in a lifetime experience and I know there has to be players saying “I can’t wait for my name to be called”.

thats the thing though is that they dont love it and everyone thinks its a celebration when really they would rather decide where they go based on what suits them best tori huster (president of nwslpa) said in an interview with vanity fair “its something thats celebrated and we hate it” at the end of the days players want autonomy over their career and thats really all you need to understand

[atlantasoccernews-mktg]

Sophia Smith of the Thorns had an additional ban lifted following a NWSLPA appeal When Sophia Smith was issued a red card two weeks ago and the Portland Thorns’ appeal was not only rejected but also resulted in a further suspension and punishment. https://atlantasoccer.news/sophia-smith-of-the-thorns-had-an-additional-ban-lifted-following-a-nwslpa-appeal/?utm_source=panorama&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=panorama