Jul 2, 2025 Current Resources

Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman headline NWSL’s class of free agents

NWSL free agency is here and some notable players could potentially be on the move in 2026.

The league published its list of eligible players on Tuesday, with Portland Thorn’s Sophia Wilson and Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman headlining this year’s class of free agents.

Other notable free agents include Gotham’s Midge Purce, Kansas City Current’s Lo’Eau LaBonta and North Carolina Courage’s Casey Murphy.

This year’s free agency will be especially chaotic for teams hoping to keep their biggest stars, as two NWSL expansion sides — Boston Legacy and a still-unnamed team in Denver — are also actively building out rosters for their inaugural seasons next year.

Wilson and Rodman make up two-thirds of the USWNT’s self-proclaimed Triple Espresso, the attacking trio that steered the team to Olympic gold in Paris last year. Wilson, who is pregnant, has been absent from the pitch this season, while Rodman is expected to make her NWSL return this month after being sidelined since April by a back injury.

The Spirit have been vocal about their desire to keep Rodman with the club, with owner Michele Kang saying in March that keeping the 23-year-old was “important,” after speculation swirled that Rodman may be the next high-profile star to exit the NWSL for Europe. Rodman previously told ESPN she “always thought about playing overseas at some point in my career.”

Kang said at the time, “We’re going to do everything in our power to hopefully keep her here. She’s an integral part of our success, our success meaning the Spirit as well as NWSL.”

Rodman joined Washington in 2021 when the team selected her second in that year’s NWSL Draft. Rodman had a contract extension the next year worth a reported $1.1 million. The three-year deal, which had an option for 2025, made the goal scorer the highest-paid player in the league at the time.

Wilson, who announced her pregnancy in March, has an extensive resume in the NWSL. She was the league’s MVP in 2022, when the Thorns won the NWSL championship. In 2023, her 11 regular-season goals in 17 matches earned her the league’s Golden Boot. That same year, she was the only American player on the 2023 Ballon d’Or Feminin finalists list.

In 2024, Wilson notched 12 goals across 20 matches for Portland. While the 24-year-old is currently not an active player on Portland’s roster, her contract runs through the 2025 season with a player option for 2026.

Wilson, a native of Windsor, Colo., would be a dream signing for NWSL Denver, especially as the club has been vocal about its desire to build a roster with direct links to Colorado’s rich history as a soccer state. Wilson has spent her entire professional career with the Thorns, beginning in 2020.

Players who are under contracts that expire at the end of the 2025 season became free agents Tuesday. They can now begin negotiating their contracts for next year with their current or new teams. Clubs have been working around the clock finalizing their rosters ahead of the free agency period, with a flurry of updates released by various teams in recent days.

On Monday, Gotham announced the departure of Portuguese forward Jess Silva, who agreed to a six-month contract in the winter. Defender Emerson Elgin and goalkeeper Tyler McCamey, who joined the club as short-term replacement players, have also left the team.

The New Jersey club said it’s in “active contract discussions” with all five of its free agents — goalkeeper Ryan Campbell, defender Bruninha and forwards Ella Stevens, Khyah Harper and Purce. Stevens has a mutual option with the club for 2026.

Free agency for all remains a novel concept in the NWSL, with the league ushering in this era last year thanks to the 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NWSLPA.

Through this CBA, the NWSL became the first American professional sports league to eliminate its college draft, bucking a North American tradition that put the league in line with the mechanics of global soccer. The league also did away with its expansion draft as part of the CBA.

With no drafts and with two expansion teams joining the league in 2026, the NWSL recently introduced more mechanisms for player movement. The rare midseason changes, announced last month, introduced intra-league loans and increased spending resources for expansion teams, adding another layer to this year’s free agency.

Beginning Tuesday, expansion teams have access to $1,065,000 in allocation money, with 50% of these funds provided by the league. The teams have until December 31, 2027, to use all these funds.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Portland Thorns, Washington Spirit, NWSL, Women's Soccer

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