Thursday, January 22, 2026 marked a monumental day for women’s professional soccer.
Trinity Rodman, daughter of Chicago Bulls great Dennis Rodman and a forward for the Washington Spirit, signed a record breaking league contract worth $2 million. The deal will keep Rodman in Washington, D.C. through 2028, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf.
The agreement comes after a month-long standoff between the 23-year-old Rodman, a native of Newport Beach, California, the NWSL Players Association, and league executives. In early December, the NWSL Players Association filed a grievance with the league on Rodman’s behalf. As reported by Meg Linehan of “The Athletic,” the grievance asserted that the league violated at least five sections of the current collective bargaining agreement when it vetoed a proposed four year, multi million dollar deal between Rodman and the Washington Spirit.
After her rookie season in 2022, Rodman signed a $1.1 million contract with Washington, which expired last year. The NWSL argued that the structure of the proposed extension would have allowed Rodman to receive a larger portion of the compensation in the later years of the agreement, specifically in 2028 and 2029. League officials stated that this would have caused the salary cap to balloon to $4 million, creating a conflict with the collective bargaining agreement.
Widely regarded as one of the brightest stars and arguably the face of the NWSL following the retirement of Alex Morgan, Rodman has built an impressive resume. She helped guide the Washington Spirit to three NWSL Finals in 2021, 2024 and 2025, winning the championship as a rookie in 2021. She also captured a gold medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
During the negotiation process, other leagues expressed interest in Rodman, including the United States’ Gainbridge Super League. There were also rumors that she could move to England to play in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
During the 2025 NWSL Championship match between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, league commissioner Jessica Berman addressed Rodman’s future, saying, “We want Trinity in the NWSL, and we will fight for her.” Fight they did.
Now officially the highest paid women’s soccer player in the world, Rodman, the 2021 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year and a 2024 Olympian who was a key performer on the United States gold medal winning team in Paris, described inking her deal as “utter relief.”
“If I could have this contract signed a year ago, I would have,” Rodman told reporters Melanie Anzidei and Meg Linehan. “I feel like I can put my shoulders down and just focus on this next season.”
After battling back from a Grade 1 MCL sprain late last year, and with the Washington Spirit falling short in the 2025 NWSL Championship Final, where they were defeated by Gotham FC, Rodman now looks ahead to the upcoming campaign.
With the historic deal finalized, Rodman now turns her attention toward delivering another strong season and proving that the long wait was well worth it.
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